Italian brake giant Brembo hit the ground running this year and executive chairman Matteo Tiraboschi hasn’t been shy about some major achievements. In Q1, quarterly sales passed a billion-euro marker for the first time ever, and Tiraboschi repeated this performance in Q2. Then he subsequently engineered the largest acquisition in his company’s history, taking over global motorcycle and car suspension technology leader Öhlins in a £320m deal.
But, with nine months of 2024 financial data now evident, Tiraboschi realises the pressure is growing. “The results showed strong resilience, achieved thanks to the group’s medium to long-term strategy, against an automotive industry that is facing severe difficulties at a global level,” he admitted, acknowledging that gains have become progressively tighter or non-existent.
However, he also noted that Brembo continues to invest, “despite a macro-economic context that remains significantly complex”. And the big investment in Öhlins should strengthen Brembo’s positioning in the market – “to provide integrated intelligent solutions to our customers”.
Brembo’s three-quarterly revenue of £2.439bn rose by only a marginal 0.3% year-on-year. Operating profit for the period was 3.5% down to £251.6m, with operating margin posting a slight decline from 10.7% to 10.3%. Pre-tax earnings fell by 11% to £229.9m. And finally net profit suffered a 14.7% slump to £164.3m. Net debt at the end of September had reached £530.6m, up from £378.9m at the beginning of the year.
During the nine months in question, sales of Brembo motorcycle brake applications accounted for 12.1% of turnover, falling by 1.7% to £293.6m.
€-£ currency translation at forex rates applicable on 28 November