NOVI, Mich.—Cooper Standard Automotive Inc. reported sales gains, but saw a decline in net income for 2018.
Sales for the year came in at $3.63 billion, up slightly compared to $3.62 billion in 2017. Net income decreased to $107.8 million compared to $135.3 million the year before.
For the fourth quarter, sales dropped to $872 million compared to $937.9 million. The firm reported a $23.1 million loss in the fourth quarter compared to net income of $28.5 million in 2017.
"Market conditions in Asia and Europe remained challenging during the fourth quarter and commodity costs continued to increase globally," Jeffrey Edwards, Cooper Standard chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "While we anticipate similar headwinds in 2019, we are focused on executing our strategy to create value through innovation, improving operating efficiency and increasing returns on invested capital. Strong net new business awards in 2018 and a record number of new program launches planned for 2019, both in our automotive and non-automotive businesses, support our positive long-term outlook for profitable growth."
Cooper Standard attributed the year-over-year decrease in fourth quarter sales to unfavorable volume and mix, foreign exchange and customer price adjustments, partially offset by the net positive impact of acquisitions and divestitures.
The firm said that it launched 56 new customer programs and was awarded $64 million in annual net new business in the fourth quarter. For the full year, Cooper's annual net new business awards totaled $441 million.
Regionally, sales dropped across the board for the fourth quarter. Cooper Standard's North America segment reported sales of $476.4 million, down by $3 million compared to 2017. The change primarily was attributable to unfavorable volume and mix and customer price adjustments, offset by incremental sales related to acquisitions. In South America, sales came in at $22.3 million compared to $27.9 million the prior year.
Europe reported $230.2 million in fourth quarter sales compared to $267.4 million in 2017. The change was attributable to unfavorable volume and mix, customer price adjustments and foreign exchange. In Asia-Pacific, sales decreased by about $20 million to $143.1 million. Cooper Standard attributed the change to unfavorable volume and mix, customer price adjustments and foreign exchange, partially offset by incremental sales related to acquisitions.