Autoliv(US:ALV)2024-01-26 17:55Financial Performance - Autoliv achieved record sales of $2.751 billion and gross profit of $530 million in Q4 2023, with a gross margin of 19.3%[32] - The adjusted operating income for Q4 2023 was $334 million, representing 12.1% of sales[32] - For the full year 2023, sales reached $10.475 billion with a gross profit of $1.822 billion, resulting in a gross margin of 17.4%[36] - The adjusted operating income for FY2023 was $920 million, or 8.8% of sales[36] - Operating cash flow for FY2023 was $982 million[36] Sales Growth and Market Outperformance - Autoliv's Q4 2023 organic sales growth outperformed global Light Vehicle Production (LVP) by 7 percentage points[24] - Asia accounted for 41% of sales in Q4 2023, with 16% organic growth[21] - Full year 2023 organic sales growth outperformed global LVP by 9 percentage points[26] Cost Reduction and Efficiency - Autoliv is implementing structural cost reduction initiatives, aiming to reduce indirect headcount by up to 2,000 and improve direct labor productivity equivalent to a direct workforce headcount reduction of up to 6,000[18] - The total accrual for capacity alignment in 2023 amounted to $218 million[18] Shareholder Returns - Autoliv repurchased shares for $150 million in Q4 2023, bringing full-year repurchases to 3.7 million shares for $352 million[4] - The dividend was increased by approximately 3% to $0.68 per share[4] - The company has returned approximately $1.4 billion to shareholders over the last 5 years[46] 2024 Outlook - Autoliv anticipates a mid-single-digit sales growth for FY2024, despite a modest decline of around 1% in LVP[4, 52, 62] - The company is advancing towards its adjusted operating margin target of around 10.5% for FY2024[4, 62] - Autoliv expects operating cash flow of around $1.2 billion for FY2024[62]