“In Q4 2018, WABCO faced a slowdown in key global markets, notably in Europe as well as China and India, which was partially offset by growth in the Americas, Japan and Thailand,” said Jacques Esculier, WABCO Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“Navigating this environment, WABCO again demonstrated its resilience and proven ability to continue to outperform global truck and bus production,” said Esculier. “Further helped by a favorable tax resolution, WABCO also achieved record quarterly earnings per share on a performance basis.”
WABCO Full Year 2018
| | | | | | | | |
U.S. Dollars in millions except EPS or otherwise indicated | | FY 2018 | | | FY 2017 | |
Sales | | $ | 3,831.0 | | | $ | 3,304.2 | |
Sales change – in U.S. Dollars year on year | | | Up 15.9 | % | | | — | |
Sales change – in local currencies year on year | | | Up 13.9 | % | | | — | |
Operating Income – Reported | | $ | 512.5 | | | $ | 435.0 | |
Operating Income – Performance | | $ | 545.7 | | | $ | 492.1 | |
Operating Margin – Reported | | | 13.4 | % | | | 13.2 | % |
Operating Margin – Performance | | | 14.2 | % | | | 14.9 | % |
Net Income Attributable to the Company – Reported | | $ | 394.1 | | | $ | 406.1 | |
Net Income Attributable to the Company – Performance | | $ | 417.8 | | | $ | 371.6 | |
Diluted EPS – Reported | | $ | 7.43 | | | $ | 7.50 | |
Diluted EPS – Performance | | $ | 7.87 | | | $ | 6.86 | |
“On a full year basis, WABCO propelled sales to a record level of over $3.8 billion, up 15.9% from the previous year and up 13.9% in local currencies,” said Esculier. “Marking its twelfth consecutive year of solid outperformance of the commercial vehicle industry, WABCO also delivered record performance operating income of $545.7 million and record annual earnings per share on a performance basis, up 14.7% versus a year ago.”
In 2018, in spite of significant industry supply chain challenges, WABCO still delivered a solid 5.0% of gross materials productivity and 7.7% of conversion productivity totaling $74.9 million of net savings.
WABCO also continued to strongly convert income into cash in 2018, resulting in net cash from operating activities of $468.5 million, up 11.2% versus the prior year.
WABCO Share Buyback Program
During the fourth quarter of 2018, WABCO repurchased 808,964 shares for $90 million through its share buyback program. Between June 2011 and December 31, 2018, WABCO repurchased 21,807,366 shares for $1,891 million in open market transactions. This includes the repurchase of shares during 2018 for a total of $300 million. As previously reported, WABCO is further authorized to repurchase shares up to a total of $600 million through December 31, 2020. WABCO intends to repurchase $400 million of shares in 2019, subject to market conditions and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
WABCO Announces New Corporate Headquarters
As part of its change in organizational logic, WABCO decided to relocate its corporate headquarters to Bern, Switzerland, with the objective of creating a singular focus on fully globalizing WABCO’s advanced technology strategy. The current Brussels base will become the headquarters of its newly formed division covering Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“Decoupling WABCO’s corporate headquarters from its four business regions creates a better platform to globally manage the next wave of advanced technologies and scale their adoption in all regions of the world,” said Esculier. “Switzerland is world-renowned for providing a highly favorable environment for breakthrough innovations and offers many distinct advantages for corporate headquarters.”