What happened
Shares of Visteon (VC 0.12%) jumped double digits today after the automotive supplier focusing on cockpit electronics reported its fourth-quarter and full-year results this morning. Shares popped as much as 15% earlier in the day, and remained up 12.4% as of 3:36 p.m. ET.
So what
Visteon reported flat sales for the quarter compared with last year. But it noted that this was in effect a gain of 15% above market as measured against its customers' automotive production, which declined that amount quarter over quarter. The company closed out the year with a 7% jump in sales, even with customer production dropping 2% for the year.
Image source: Visteon.
Now what
As with the automotive industry in general, Visteon is moving toward more of a focus on electric vehicles. In a January 2022 introduction of its smart wireless battery management system, President and CEO Sachin Lawande said the company was growing its "electrified product line that will help automakers reduce the complexity, weight and materials used to manufacture electric vehicles and enhance the ownership experience for their customers."
For the full year, Visteon said it won overall new business worth $5.1 billion, including a third customer for electrification "that will launch on three premium vehicle brands" for a global automaker beginning in 2024. For perspective, the company has a market capitalization of about $3.3 billion after today's stock gains.
It also said that it launched 17 new products in the fourth quarter, and 43 in all of 2021. Investors that poured into the stock today are likely looking ahead at what is expected, too. The company said it expects 2022 revenue of $3.25 billion at the midpoint of its guidance range. That would represent an increase of 17% over 2021 revenue, helping to explain today's big stock move.
