Aptiv Reports Record Fourth Quarter Financial Results

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DUBLIN - Aptiv PLC (NYSE: APTV), a global technology company focused on making mobility safer, greener and more connected, today reported fourth quarter 2020 U.S. GAAP earnings of $1.04 per diluted share. Excluding special items, fourth quarter earnings totaled $1.13 per diluted share.

• U.S. GAAP revenue of $4.2 billion, an increase of 17%
  • Revenue increased 14% adjusted for currency exchange, commodity movements and divestitures
• U.S. GAAP net income of $283 million, diluted earnings per share of $1.04
  • Excluding special items, diluted earnings per share of $1.13
• U.S. GAAP operating income margin of 10.6%, operating income of $446 million
  • Adjusted Operating Income margin of 11.3%; Adjusted Operating Income of $476 million; Adjusted EBITDA of $678 million
• Generated $799 million of cash from operations

• U.S. GAAP revenue of $13.1 billion, a decrease of 9%
  • Revenue decreased 9% adjusted for currency exchange, commodity movements and divestitures; largely resulting from volume declines associated with the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
• U.S. GAAP net income of $1,769 million, diluted earnings per share of $6.66; which includes a gain of $5.32 per diluted share resulting from the completion of the Motional autonomous driving joint venture in the first quarter
  • Excluding special items, diluted earnings per share of $1.94
• U.S. GAAP operating income of $2,118 million; which includes a gain of $1,434 million resulting from the completion of the Motional autonomous driving joint venture in the first quarter
  • Adjusted Operating Income margin of 6.6%; Adjusted Operating Income of $867 million; Adjusted EBITDA of $1,621 million
• Generated $1,413 million of cash from operations

“Last year was a year like no other. Despite the industry declines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Aptiv delivered strong performance, validating the strength of our portfolio of market relevant technologies aligned to the safe, green and connected megatrends, resulting in over $13 billion of revenue and 10 points of growth over market in 2020,” said Kevin Clark, president and chief executive officer. “Throughout the pandemic, Aptiv kept our most important asset – our people – safe, and we were able to continue innovating and delivering for our customers. As the economic recovery takes hold, Aptiv is enabling our customers to thrive – facilitating the accelerating transition to an electrified, software-defined vehicle. We solve some of the industry’s toughest challenges, creating exceptional value for customers, which in turn generates best-in-class, sustainable returns for shareholders. In 2021, even as the industry braces for continued pandemic-related challenges, our relentless focus on execution positions Aptiv for continued outperformance.”

Fourth Quarter 2020 Results
For the three months ended December 31, 2020, the Company reported U.S. GAAP revenue of $4.2 billion, an increase of 17% from the prior year period, despite global vehicle production growth of 2% (1% on an Aptiv weighted market basis, which represents global vehicle production weighted to the geographic regions in which the Company generates its revenue, “AWM”) over the same period. Adjusted for currency exchange, commodity movements and divestitures, revenue increased by 14% in the fourth quarter. This reflects growth of 20% in Europe, 11% in North America, 10% in Asia, which includes 9% in China, and 37% in South America, our smallest region.

The Company reported fourth quarter 2020 U.S. GAAP net income of $283 million and earnings of $1.04 per diluted share, compared to $230 million and $0.90 per diluted share in the prior year period. Fourth quarter Adjusted Net Income, a non-GAAP financial measure defined below, totaled $319 million, or $1.13 per diluted share, which includes losses of approximately $0.16 from the performance of the Motional joint venture and $0.05 from the dilutive impacts of the Company’s preferred shares, compared to $296 million, or $1.15 per diluted share, in the prior year period.

Fourth quarter Adjusted Operating Income, a non-GAAP financial measure defined below, was $476 million, compared to $388 million in the prior year period. Adjusted Operating Income margin was 11.3%, compared to 10.8% in the prior year period, reflecting continued stabilization and recovery of global production levels and above-market sales growth, as well as the absence of the prior period impacts of the GM North American labor strike. Depreciation and amortization expense totaled $208 million, an increase from $178 million in the prior year period.

Interest expense for the fourth quarter totaled $39 million, as compared to $41 million in the prior year period.

Tax expense in the fourth quarter of 2020 was $55 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of approximately 13%. Tax expense in the fourth quarter of 2019 was $30 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of approximately 11%.

The Company generated net cash flow from operating activities of $799 million in fourth quarter, compared to $703 million in the prior year period.

Full Year 2020 Results
For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company reported U.S. GAAP revenue of $13.1 billion, a decrease of 9% from the prior year, which includes volume declines of 7% primarily resulting from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020, which also resulted in global vehicle production declines of 16% (19% on an AWM basis) over the same period. Adjusted for currency exchange, commodity movements and divestitures, revenue decreased by 9% during the year. This reflects declines of 17% in North America, 7% in Europe and 3% in South America, our smallest region, partially offset by growth of 1% in Asia, which includes 3% in China.

For full year 2020, the Company reported U.S. GAAP net income of $1,769 million and earnings of $6.66 per diluted share, compared to $990 million and $3.85 per diluted share in the prior year. Full year 2020 Adjusted Net Income totaled $525 million, or $1.94 per diluted share, which includes losses of approximately $0.36 from the performance of the Motional joint venture, compared to $1,236 million, or $4.80 per diluted share, in the prior year.

The Company reported Adjusted Operating Income of $867 million for full year 2020, compared to $1,548 million in the prior year. Adjusted Operating Income margin was 6.6% for full year 2020, compared to 10.8% in the prior year, primarily as a result of the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which primarily affected Aptiv in the first half of 2020, and included declines in global vehicle production and consumer demand, work stoppages, disruptions to our supply chain and other adverse global economic impacts, particularly those resulting from temporary governmental “lock-down” orders for all non-essential activities. Depreciation and amortization expense totaled $764 million, an increase from $717 million in the prior year, resulting from increases related to our acquisitions and capital investments.

Interest expense for full year 2020 totaled $164 million, as compared to $164 million in the prior year.

Tax expense for full year 2020 was $49 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of approximately 3%. Tax expense for full year 2019 was $132 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of approximately 12%.

The Company generated net cash flow from operating activities of $1,413 million in 2020, compared to $1,624 million in the prior year. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $2.8 billion and total available liquidity of $5.2 billion.

Reconciliations of Adjusted Revenue Growth, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income Per Share and Cash Flow Before Financing, which are non-GAAP measures, to the most directly comparable financial measures, respectively, calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) are provided in the attached supplemental schedules.

Full Year 2021 Outlook
The Company’s full year 2021 financial guidance is as follows:

Conference Call and Webcast
The Company will host a conference call to discuss these results at 8:00 a.m. (ET) today, which is accessible by dialing 888.394.8218 (US domestic) or 646.828.8193 (international) or through a webcast at ir.aptiv.com. The conference ID number is 5690538. A slide presentation will accompany the prepared remarks and has been posted on the investor relations section of the Company’s website. A replay will be available two hours following the conference call.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
This press release contains information about Aptiv’s financial results which are not presented in accordance with GAAP. Specifically, Adjusted Revenue Growth, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income Per Share and Cash Flow Before Financing are non-GAAP financial measures. Adjusted Revenue Growth represents the year-over-year change in reported net sales relative to the comparable period, excluding the impact on net sales from currency exchange, commodity movements and divestitures. Adjusted Operating Income represents net income before interest expense, other income (expense), net, income tax expense, equity income (loss), net of tax, restructuring, other acquisition and portfolio project costs, asset impairments, gains (losses) on business divestitures and other transactions and deferred compensation related to acquisitions. Other acquisition and portfolio project costs include costs incurred to integrate acquired businesses and to plan and execute product portfolio transformation actions, including business and product acquisitions and divestitures. Adjusted Operating Income margin is defined as Adjusted Operating Income as a percentage of net sales. Adjusted EBITDA represents net income before depreciation and amortization (including asset impairments), interest expense, other income (expense), net, income tax expense, equity income (loss), net of tax, restructuring and other special items.

Adjusted Net Income represents net income attributable to Aptiv before restructuring and other special items, including the tax impact thereon. Adjusted Net Income Per Share represents Adjusted Net Income divided by the Adjusted Weighted Average Number of Diluted Shares Outstanding for the period. The Adjusted Weighted Average Number of Diluted Shares Outstanding assumes the application of the if-converted method of share dilution, if not already applied for U.S. GAAP purposes of calculating the weighted average number of diluted shares outstanding. Cash Flow Before Financing represents cash provided by operating activities plus cash provided by (used in) investing activities, adjusted for the purchase price of business acquisitions and net proceeds from the divestiture of other significant businesses.

Management believes the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release are useful to both management and investors in their analysis of the Company’s financial position, results of operations and liquidity. In particular, management believes Adjusted Revenue Growth, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income Per Share and Cash Flow Before Financing are useful measures in assessing the Company’s ongoing financial performance that, when reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measure, provide improved comparability between periods through the exclusion of certain items that management believes are not indicative of the Company’s core operating performance and that may obscure underlying business results and trends. Management also uses these non-GAAP financial measures for internal planning and forecasting purposes.

Such non-GAAP financial measures are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures in the attached supplemental schedules at the end of this press release. Non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP and, as calculated, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.

About Aptiv
Aptiv is a global technology company that develops safer, greener and more connected solutions enabling the future of mobility. Visit aptiv.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release, as well as other statements made by Aptiv PLC (the “Company”), contain forward-looking statements that reflect, when made, the Company’s current views with respect to current events, certain investments and acquisitions and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors relating to the Company’s operations and business environment, which may cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from any future results. All statements that address future operating, financial or business performance or the Company’s strategies or expectations are forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are discussed under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events or how they may affect the Company. It should be remembered that the price of the ordinary shares and any income from them can go down as well as up. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events and/or otherwise, except as may be required by law.