Kicking off our review of the week’s top news is our recent interview with Ride Control President Lisa Bahash. Last year, Ride Control took over the iconic Gabriel brand after ArvinMeritor spun-off the business as part of its divestiture of its Light Vehicle Systems division. As president of Ride Control, Bahash is responsible for leading the company’s accelerated plan for profitable growth through customer-focused initiatives; championing strategic and operational management; and ensuring optimum product quality and performance from the manufacturing operations. In this exclusive Executive Interview, Bahash talks about the transition that has taken place with respect to the 103-year-old Gabriel brand, as well as her goals for future of the business.
Also popular on AMN this week were the recently released quarterly financial reports from Visteon and Uni-Select. For the first quarter of 2010, Visteon’s total sales were $1.9 billion, including product sales of $1.85 billion and services revenue of $58 million. Product sales increased by $551 million, or 43 percent, year-over-year as higher production and new business wins, net of plant divestitures and closures, increased sales by about $414 million. For the first quarter of 2010, Visteon reported net income of $233 million, or $1.79 per share, on product sales of $1.85 billion. For the first quarter of 2009, the company reported a net income of $2 million, or 2 cents per share, on product sales of $1.3 billion.
In addition, Visteon this week filed a second amended plan of reorganization in its ongoing Chapter 11 case. The amended plan would give certain unsecured bondholders 95 percent of the equity in the newly reorganized business, in exchange for $1.25 billion in cash raised in a backstopped equity rights offering. The second amended plan still leaves bondholders and other general unsecured creditors substantially impaired and does not provide for any recovery to holders of Visteon’s equity.
Meanwhile, in the distribution segment, Uni-Select this week reported $7.6 million in net earnings for the first quarter of 2010, compared to $8 million, or 41 cents per share, a year prior. Uni-Select noted that the conversion of the results in Canadian dollars reduced the sales by $38.6 million as a consequence of the increased value of the Canadian dollar, while the sale and closure of corporate stores during the previous quarters decreased the sales by $7.6 million.
This week in Chicago, Robert Bosch LLC hosted a press event for trade media to introduce a number of new diagnostic products and training initiatives. Among the new products introduced at the event were the KTS 340, a dynamic new diagnostic tool for the North American market, and the FWA 4630 Easy 3D Wheel Alignment System.
At the press event, Odd Joergenrud, regional president, Automotive Aftermarket, North America for Robert Bosch, shared some of the key points from the company’s annual conference and talked about the company’s commitment to providing innovative, high-quality products to aftermarket customers. You can read his Q&A from the event, here.
Finally, we wrap up our top coverage this week with a remembrance of Frederick Thul, the second-generation patriarch of Thul Auto Parts and related companies founded in 1913. Thul, 88, died May 1 at the Hunterdon Care Center in Flemington, N.J. Thul was a founder of the NJ Automotive Wholesalers Association and longtime member and former president of the Mid-Jersey Automotive Wholesalers Association and a member of the Plainfield Chamber of Commerce. Thul also was one of the founders of Regional Automotive Warehouse Corp. in Newark, N.J., which became one of the leading wholesale auto parts distribution companies in the northeast. To read his complete obituary, click here.
