Business
Gentex Reports Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results
ZEELAND, Mich., July 24, 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., July 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX), a leading supplier of digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass and fire protection technologies, today reported financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020.\n 2nd Quarter 2020 Summary Net Sales decline of 51% quarter over quarter despite a 69% and 62% quarter over quarter decline in light vehicle production in North America and Europe, respectively.Severance related costs of $8.8 million recognized during the quarter in order to achieve an estimated $35 million in annualized savings.Positive cash flow from operations of $39.2 million despite the significantly lower sales levels.Balance Sheet remains strong with total cash and investments of $585 million and debt of only $75 million. For the second quarter of 2020, the Company reported net sales of $229.9 million, which was a decline of 51% compared to net sales of $468.7 million in the second quarter of 2019. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic created extended shutdowns in the automotive industry for much of the quarter in various parts of Asia, Europe, and North America. Global light vehicle production ended the second quarter of 2020 down 45%, when compared to the second quarter of 2019. However, the majority of the light vehicle production declines occurred in Europe, which experienced a 62% quarter over quarter reduction, and in North America, which experienced a 69% quarter over quarter reduction. \"The impact of COVID-19, government enacted shutdowns in certain countries and states, and the resultant economic impact led to the most severe change in demand in a very short period of time that Gentex has ever experienced. In fact, our forecast in early March for the second quarter of 2020 was estimating a 6% growth rate for the Company,\" said President and CEO Steve Downing. “A deeper dive into the global vehicle production environment provides compelling information about what happened in the quarter. For instance, while the China market expanded by 9% in the second quarter, our historical revenue from China has been less than 10% of sales, so this provided very little help to offset the losses in our primary markets. The Company’s primary markets include North America, Europe, Japan and Korea and together these regions were down approximately 59% for the second...