NOVI, Mich.—Cooper Standard Holdings Inc., parent company of Cooper Standard Automotive, reported a 5 percent increase of sales, despite a slight decline for the fourth quarter.
Sales were reported at $3.24 billion, up from $3.09 billion in 2013. For the quarter, sales dropped to $767.9 million from $794.2 million in 2013.
Net income declined slightly for 2014, to $42.8 million from $47.9 million. The firm reported a net loss for the third quarter of $12.8 million, compared to a net loss of $20.8 million in 2013.
“Cooper Standard's continued to grow year-over-year in 2014, more than 1.5 times the market,” Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Edwards said during a conference call on Feb. 24. “We aggressively addressed operational challenges, which resulted in improved adjusted EBITDA margins by 200 basis points in the fourth quarter 2014.”
Allen Campbell, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said net income for the year included an $18.9 million after tax cost in conjunction with its debt extinguishment during the second quarter of 2014.
Edwards also highlighted the firm's improved margins in its sealing business, which accounted for 52 percent of its sales. Fuel and brake accounted for 20 percent of sales, fluid transfer systems accounted for 14 percent of sales, and anti-vibration systems accounted for 8 percent of sales.
The remaining 6 percent of sales came from Cooper Standard's non-automotive lines and its thermal and emissions business. The latter was divested to Halla Visteon Climate Control Corp. for $46 million in June 2014.
Sales for 2014 increased in all regions except South America, which dropped slightly to $158 million from $177 million. North America increased to about $1.7 billion from $1.62 billion, Europe increased to about $1.14 billion from about $1.08 billion, and Asia/Pacific increased to $249 million from $220 million.
For the fourth quarter, North American sales decreased slightly to $401 million from $426 million. Sales in Europe and South America decreased to $259 million and $36 million from $270 million and $38 million. Sales in Asia/Pacific increased to $72 million from $60 million.
Campbell said production units of the Ford F-150 were down 25,000 compared to 2013, which had a significant impact on the firm's fourth quarter sales. The Ford F-150 contains all four of Cooper Standard's core product lines, and it is the firm's No. 1 platform.
Headquartered in Novi, Cooper Standard supplies systems and components for the automotive industry and operates in 20 countries with 27,000 employees worldwide.