Ficosa International, S.A. Business Report up until FY ended Dec. 2014

Recent Years

Financial Overview

(in million EUR)
FY ended Dec. 31, 2014 FY ended Dec. 31, 2013 Rate of change (%)
Net Sales 949 935 1.5
EBITDA 79 62 27.4


-In 2014, the Company doubled the combined sales of its products focused on ADAS, communication systems, and electric car components compared to 2013.

Restructuring

Capital and business alliance with Panasonic
-In September 2014, the Company and Panasonic Corporation signed an investment agreement to enter into a capital and business alliance. Under the agreement, Panasonic Corporation will take a 49% stake in the Company. According to an article in the Nikkei, Panasonic will invest between JPY 20 billion and JPY 30 billion in the transaction. The two companies plan to integrate their expertise to accelerate the development and releases of advanced automotive electronic mirrors. The Company also aims to benefit from Panasonic's global presence, especially with Japanese OEMs, to promote its products. The transaction was completed on June 30, 2015.

ADASENS Automotive GmbH
-Denso Corporation announced that it would acquire a 50% stake in ADASENS Automotive GmbH, a subsidiary of the Company, by the end of 2013. ADASENS develops image recognition technologies using cameras to detect obstacles around vehicles. With ADASENS' expertise, Denso will accelerate its development of active safety and automated driving technologies. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on September 27, 2013)

Acquisition

-In 2011, the Company announced its acquisition of U.S. rear-view mirror manufacturer, Camryn Industries LLC. This move positions Ficosa for a 20% increase in sales in the NAFTA economic zone (US and Mexico). The new acquisition has increased the Group's rear view market share in the NAFTA zone to 28.7%. This acquisition also increases its Asian manufacturing presence from 2% to 25%. The Company is focusing its growth beyond NAFTA, reaching out to Asian markets, which it expects will generate 30% of its sales within five years. (From a press release on March 3, 2011)

Contracts

-In 2013, the Company announced that its battery management systems will be featured on the Volkswagen "e-up!" and "e-Golf". These two models were presented at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show 2013. (From a press release on September 9, 2013)

-In 2011, the Company announced that it was chosen by the Renault-Nissan alliance to produce automatic shifter systems for next generation small segment vehicles. The Company will commercialize and produce these products for the markets of Europe, NAFTA, Mercosur and Asia. At the same time, the Japanese company Fuji Kiko will produce the shifter for the Chinese and Japanese markets. This contract will represent sales of EUR 45 million. (From a press release on October 5, 2011)

-In 2011, the Company won a contract within the automotive telematic sector that increased yearly turnover by EUR 37.5 million to 50 million, thus increasing sales from EUR 150 million to 200 million over four years. This system is designed to call emergency services in the event of an accident, reporting the speed of the vehicle at the moment of the crash and the exact location. This unit provides the vehicle with various communication technologies including 2G and 3G telephony, satellite (GPS/GLONASS), short range (WiFi). The telematic unit will be developed at the R&D headquarters of the Company and will be exported to Europe, Brazil, North America, Japan, China and Korea. The Company plans to start producing this unit in January 2013. (From a press release on July 20, 2011)

Joint Ventures

-In 2011, the Company and a Spanish infrastructure firm Comsa Emte, SL announced that they established a 50:50 joint venture called Idneo Technologies S.L. in Spain. The new company focuses on the research and development of integrated turnkey solutions. This engineering group is expected to generate EUR 25 million in revenue by 2015. Initial revenue projections estimated that EUR 2.5 million will be generated from Asian markets, EUR 3 million from NAFTA, and the remainder from Europe. The new company contains six business categories including Renewable Energy and the Environment, Transportation Applications and Electric Vehicles. Idneo expects to open offices in Shanghai, China in 2012 and a second office in the US in 2013. (From a press release on May 5, 2011)

Awards

Year Award Company
2011 Johnson Controls Leadership Award in Continuous Improvement Johnson Controls

Outlook

-In 2015, the Company expects to reach EUR 1,000 million in sales through increased sales volumes, improved operational efficiency, and the launch of new products.

R&D Expenditure

-The Company invests approximately 4% of its sales turnover in R&D every year. In 2014, the Company spent EUR 44 million in R&D development.

R&D Facilities

-The Company has 13 R&D centers located in the following countries:

  • Brazil
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Korea
  • Mexico
  • Portugal
  • Spain
  • Turkey
  • U.S.

R&D Structure

-The Company has approximately 600 engineers employed in its 13 R&D centers. 400 of these engineers are employed at the Viladecavalls Technology Centre located in Barcelona, Spain. (As of June, 2015)

-The Company plans to hire 75 additional engineers for its Viladecavalls Technology Centre in Barcelona, Spain in 2015.

Patents

-As of December 2014, the Company has 470 active patents.

Product Developments

Emergency call system for Russian vehicles
-At the Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona, Spain, the Company and Oberthur Technologies, a French digital security solution provider, will demonstrate a complete emergency call system for the Russian automotive market called ERA GLONASS. The ERA GLONASS system is the Russian equivalent of the European eCall system. The emergency system inside the vehicle consists of a telematic unit that incorporates a special SIM card, titled DIM ERA GLONASS, as well as a user interface module. The two companies will show this innovation on the CLARA platform with DIM ERA GLONASS. (From a press release on February 25, 2014)

Antenna with integrated 4G capabilities

-In 2013, the Company announced the launch of an antenna which covers a wide spectrum of band services, including 2G, 3G, and 4G. In doing this, the Company is the first Spanish company to provide 4G integration to a vehicle. As the antenna has already garnered interest from several European and North American manufacturers, the Company hopes to close agreements with these manufacturers in 2014. (From a press release on June 19, 2013)

In-Vehicle Telematic Unit (iVTU)
-The Company displayed a telematic unit which integrates an antenna module for positioning and satellite navigation during the 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The unit contains a multi-channel receiver which allows tracking across different navigation and positioning standards worldwide. This allows OEMs to avoid needing multiple iVTUs for different markets. Additionally, the Company's telematic unit is smaller and weighs less due to the use of miniaturized integrated circuits and surface mount devices. (From a press release on February 26, 2013)

Technological Alliances

-In 2014, the Company announced that it has entered into a collaboration with NTT Docomo, the largest mobile operator in Japan with respect to its M2M businesses, and in the integration of 4G LTE services in the automotive industry, specifically in Japan. The collaboration will specifically focus on developing ways to enable 4G integration in vehicles through the use of connectivity modules.(From a press release on May 13, 2014)

Investment in Spain

-In 2011, the Company announced that its plans to concentrate most of the Group's assets in its Viladecavalls plant in Spain. Over the next two years, the plant will gradually integrate automotive-related activities that are currently carried out in Rubi, Spain and other facilities outside Spain. The plant will continue to manufacture television sets for Sony on an outsource basis until 2012. However, this will be gradually replaced by the production of vehicle systems and components. The Company will also set up a new R&D facility in Viladecavalls, which will be its fourth Centre of Excellence. The Group's Centre of Excellence for Technology by Wire for gear shifts, actuators and vehicle mechanisms will be relocated from Rubi and Mollet, Spain to Viladecavalls. Its Centre of Excellence for the manufacture of exterior rear-view mirrors will remain in Soria. (From a press release in January 26, 2011)