OPmobility Q1 2025 slides: 3.3% revenue growth despite automotive market headwinds

Introduction & Market Context

OPmobility SE (OPM) reported solid revenue growth in the first quarter of 2025, outperforming the broader automotive market despite significant regional variations and ongoing trade uncertainties. The company presented its Q1 2025 results on April 23, 2025, highlighting its ability to navigate a challenging environment characterized by trade tariffs and low visibility on automotive production.

The global automotive market is expected to decline by 1.5% in 2025 according to S&P Global Mobility, with recent forecasts showing a negative variation of 1.4 million vehicles compared to earlier projections. Despite these headwinds, OPmobility has maintained its full-year guidance, demonstrating confidence in its operational agility and cost management strategies.

Executive Summary

OPmobility delivered a 3.3% year-over-year increase in economic revenue for Q1 2025 on a like-for-like basis, outperforming the automotive market by 1.8 percentage points. The company emphasized its rapid adaptation to uncertain market conditions through additional cost reduction measures and investment slowdown initiatives.

As shown in the following executive summary from the presentation:

The company’s consolidated revenue reached €2,694 million in Q1 2025, up from €2,613 million in the same period last year, representing a 3.1% increase. This growth was achieved despite significant regional variations, with strong performance in Europe and Asia offsetting weakness in North America and China.

Regional Performance Analysis

OPmobility’s regional performance showed significant divergence across markets, with particularly strong results in Europe and Asia excluding China. The company’s global footprint and regionalized production strategy have helped mitigate some market-specific challenges.

The following chart illustrates the company’s outperformance by region:

Europe emerged as the standout performer, with OPmobility achieving 7.7% revenue growth against a market decline of 7.1%, resulting in an impressive outperformance of 15 percentage points. This success was attributed to increased assembly activities in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, particularly in the Modules business.

Asia excluding China also showed remarkable strength, with 23.6% revenue growth outpacing the market by 21 percentage points. However, performance in China was challenging, with revenue declining slightly by 0.1% against market growth of 11.9%, resulting in underperformance of 12 percentage points.

North America faced headwinds with a 7.1% revenue decline, underperforming the market by 2 percentage points. The company is actively working to mitigate the impact of trade tariffs in this region.

Business Unit Performance

OPmobility’s revenue growth was driven primarily by its Exterior & Lighting and Modules business units, while Powertrain experienced a slight decline. The following chart breaks down the revenue contribution by business segment:

The Exterior & Lighting segment remained stable compared to Q1 2024 but contributed an additional €95 million to consolidated revenue. The business benefited from strong performance in Europe and Asia, along with solid order intake including new wins in China.

The Modules business showed robust growth of 13.4% year-over-year, driven by strong performance in Europe due to increased assembly activities in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The segment also benefited from the launch of a new vehicle in the USA and China for a major US electric vehicle manufacturer, as well as high activity for Hyundai (OTC:HYMTF) in South Korea.

The Powertrain segment experienced a slight decline of 2.1% compared to Q1 2024, resulting in a €14 million negative contribution to consolidated revenue. Despite this, the company highlighted its consolidating leadership in fuel tank production and expansion of its footprint in India.

Strategic Initiatives & Adaptation Measures

In response to market uncertainties, OPmobility is implementing a series of strategic measures focused on cost reduction and balance sheet optimization. The company’s global manufacturing footprint provides significant flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions.

As illustrated in the following slide on the company’s global presence:

OPmobility maintains a strong localized production strategy, with €1.8 billion of revenue generated in the US in 2024, over 80% of which was produced locally. This approach helps mitigate the impact of trade tariffs and supply chain disruptions. The company is also engaged in ongoing negotiations with customers regarding component supply, with approximately two-thirds directed and one-third free purchases.

The company is taking decisive action to adapt to the current environment through intensified cost reduction and cash preservation measures:

These initiatives include additional reduction of structure costs, adapting indirect production costs to volumes, slowing down investments, and optimizing inventories. Management emphasized that the company maintains a sound financial structure with high liquidity levels to navigate the uncertain market environment.

Outlook & Conclusion

Despite the challenging market conditions and downward revision in automotive production forecasts, OPmobility has maintained its outlook for 2025. The company expects its operating margin, net result, and free cash flow to exceed 2024 levels.

The following outlook slide highlights the market uncertainty and the company’s maintained guidance:

Management cited a solid start to the year, encouraging signals on volumes, and rapid adaptation measures as key factors supporting the maintained outlook. The company’s ability to combine short-term agility with long-term vision was emphasized as a core strength in navigating the current market environment.

In conclusion, OPmobility’s Q1 2025 results demonstrate the company’s resilience in a challenging automotive market. While regional performance varies significantly, the overall revenue growth of 3.3% outpacing the market by 1.8 percentage points reflects the effectiveness of the company’s diversified footprint and operational flexibility. The implementation of additional cost reduction and investment optimization measures positions the company to maintain its financial performance targets for 2025 despite ongoing market uncertainties.

Full presentation:

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