Valeo shares slump as car parts supplier cuts sales forecast
(Reuters) -Shares in Valeo fell over 16% in early Friday trading, after the French car parts supplier cut its annual sales forecast by at least 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), blaming a weaker dollar and shrinking global car sales volumes.
The designer and producer of driving assistance systems said late on Thursday it expected sales of around 20.5 billion euros this year, down from the 21.5-22.5 billion euros it forecast previously.
As U.S. tariffs on foreign auto imports threaten carmakers' margins and sales volumes, Valeo CEO Christophe Périllat told analysts that the company would reap the benefits of a cost reduction programme.
On Friday, Volkswagen, one of Valeo's largest customers, cut its full-year sales and profit margin forecasts in its first assessment of the damage from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war.
Volkswagen shares reversed early losses and were up over 2% by 0950 GMT, with a Metzler analyst pointing to CEO Oliver Blume's assessment that the performance of its Porsche and Audi brands could reach a low point this year and recover in 2026.
Valeo shares had trimmed early losses to trade down 6.6% at the same time.
Several European companies flagged currency risks in their quarterly reports, after Trump's April 2 tariff bombshell triggered market turmoil and sent the safe-haven dollar tumbling.
($1 = 0.8518 euros)
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