Annual Report 2001 - KSPG AG

40
Management report on the Kolbenschmidt Pierburg Group
The divisions
Pistons
The Pistons division develops, manufactures
and distributes pistons for
I.C. engines and piston compressors.
The product range stretches from
pistons for heavy-duty machines via
pistons for all kinds of applications in
passenger cars and trucks to pistons
for ships and stationary applications.
These pistons, which have a wide
variety of uses, measure between 20
and 640 mm in diameter, and are made
from aluminum, spherical castings and
steel or a mixture of these materials.
For a long time now, all the notable
engine manufacturers have counted
among our customers. KS Kolbenschmidt
GmbH is the division’s parent.
Sales drop
due to burdens
in US business
In the past fiscal year, total sales of
the Pistons division amounted to
€571.5 million, equivalent to a drop
of €35.0 million or 5.8 percent. The
division’s performance was highly
influenced by the North American automotive
economy, not only affecting
the indigenous operations but also
infecting the Brazilian subsidiary.
With a 3.2-percent gain, KS Kolbenschmidt
AG’s sales amounted to
€250.0 million, thus above the Western
European market for passenger
cars. Revenues generated from our
own production, especially of largebore
pistons, rose sharply, these
however partly being negated due to
Pistons 2000 2001
€million €million
Net sales 606.5 571.5
EBIT 32.8 40.1
EBT 14.0 20.2
Net income 1.3 9.3
Capital expenditures 65.0 57.7
Headcount at Dec. 31 5,618 5,416
expectedly reduced merchandise
sales as well as idle capacity in the
second half of the year at one location.
Within the small-bore pistons product
group, sales of pistons for diesel
engines (passenger cars) were clearly
lifted, however at the expense of the
gasoline engine (passenger cars) and
commercial vehicle varieties, this
matching the general market trend.
At the European subsidiaries, Société
Mosellane de Pistons S. A., Thionville,
mainly active on the French market,
managed to stabilize its sales of
€59.8 million at the high prior-year
level. The French carmakers’ strong
demand for diesel pistons balanced
any declines in gasoline engine
business. In fiscal 2001 and at €26.8
million, the Czech company Metal a.s.,
Ústí, slightly topped the previous
year’s sharp gain to €26.4 million.
A number of start-up postponements
prevented further growth.
The North American market, the
world’s biggest, was for the Pistons
division in 2001 a period of severe
sales problems. After €240.5 million
in the previous year, in 2001 sales of
only €208.9 million were generated,
the changed euro-dollar parity abating
the loss slightly. Apart from the general
market trend, as for instance, the
weakness of the US manufacturers
and the soft demand for commercial
vehicles, there were also internal
causes such as the phase-out of projects
and the loss of a parts distributor,
both factors sharing in this decline.
Affected are the two large companies
active on the US market. After €118.7
million in 2000, Karl Schmidt Unisia
Inc., Marinette, Wisconsin, generated
sales in 2001 of €95.7 million, and
KUS Zollner Division Inc., Fort Wayne,
Indiana, contributed €90,7 million
(down from €107.3 million) to the
total. With sales of €15.3 million in
2001, the Canadian production company
KUS Zollner Canada Ltd.,
Leamington, Ontario, on the other
hand, surpassed the previous year’s
€9,7 million.
After a steep sales surge to €102.5
million in the previous year, the Brazilian
subsidiary KS Pistões Ltda.,
Nova Odessa, had to contend with a
decline to €93.5 million in 2001.
Good domestic market sales failed
to compensate for lower exports to
North America and Western Europe.
Previous year’s earnings
clearly surpassed
For fiscal 2001, Pistons achieved an
EBT of €20.2 million, hence exceeding
the previous year’s €14.0 million. ROS
climbed to 3.5 percent.
3-D blank checking
at the Neckarsulm plant