Business
Gentex Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End 2019 Financial Results
ZEELAND, Mich., Jan. 31, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX), a leading supplier of digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass and
About this update from Gentex Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"ZEELAND, Mich., Jan. 31, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX), a leading supplier of digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass and fire protection products, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and calendar year ended December 31, 2019.\n Fourth Quarter and Calendar Year 2019 Highlights Full Display Mirror® unit shipments increased 89% for calendar year 2019 to 739,000 unitsRevenue for the fourth quarter of 2019 declined 2% versus the fourth quarter of 2018, primarily impacted by the strike at General Motors which created a 5% revenue headwind in the quarter, and global light vehicle production that declined approximately 5% versus the same quarter last yearGross profit margin of 36.5% for the fourth quarter of 2019, which was significantly higher than the strike-impacted Company forecast of 35 - 36% for the quarterGross profit margin of 37% for calendar year 2019, which includes 70 basis points of incremental tariff headwinds when compared to 2018, and total tariff costs of approximately 100 basis points for the full yearEarnings per diluted share for 2019 increased 2% to $1.66 in 2019 from $1.62 in 20182.4 million shares repurchased during the fourth quarter at an average price of $28.55 per share and 13.8 million shares repurchased during calendar year 2019 at an average price of $24.06 per share For the fourth quarter of 2019, the Company reported net sales of $443.8 million, a decrease of 2% compared to net sales of $453.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2018. The decrease in revenue on a quarter over quarter basis was due in large part to the strike at General Motors, which negatively impacted sales in the quarter by approximately 5%. In addition to the strike creating headwinds that impacted the North American market, the rest of the world light vehicle production declined 5% on a quarter over quarter basis when compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. A 6% production decline in Europe and a 10% production decline in the Japan/Korea market quarter over quarter, more than offset the modest improvement in the China market versus the fourth quarter of 2018. \"The fourth quarter has always been difficult to forecast because of inventory adjustments at our customers that often occur at year end, but in 2019 we were also estimating the impact that the strike would have on revenue an...