Germany's Bosch, one of the world's biggest auto parts suppliers, said sales were subdued in the first quarter, reflecting a stagnant European economy. Bosch repeated on April 18 that it would not reach its 8 percent operating margin target this year - the threshold it needs to finance internal growth and preserve its independence as a privately held company controlled by a trust.
Last year the margin shrank to 2.5 percent due in part to heavy upfront investments in electromobility, increased raw materials prices, and the disposal of its foundation brake business that shrank earnings at its core car parts business.
The German conglomerate released preliminary guidance for this year in January, after revealing it wrote down the value of its solar energy business to zero, triggering a 1 billion euro ($1.3 billion) loss at the unit, which is now for sale. Best known in the car industry for making advanced electronic brakes to fuel injection systems, Bosch forecast that group turnover would increase by 2-4 percent this year.
This would be a slight improvement over the 2012 rate of 1.9 percent, which was revised higher from the preliminary 1.6 percent reported in January. In the car parts business, Bosch's largest division, revenue increased by 2.1 percent to 31.1 billion euros last year.
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