STOCKHOLM, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Swedish car safety gear maker Autoliv predicted on Friday no organic sales growth in 2026 amid stalling vehicle production, and much lower profitability in the first quarter than a year ago, as it reported a drop in fourth-quarter profit.
Shares in the world’s largest producer of airbags and seatbelts were down 7% on the Stockholm bourse at 1210 GMT, having been flat ahead of the report. Pareto analyst Forbes Goldman and Handelsbanken analyst Hampus Engellau said primarily the outlook weighed on the stock.
Many global automakers are struggling in the face of weakening demand and rising cost pressures, in turn negatively affecting their suppliers, and industry forecasters warn of a softer year ahead with S&P forecasting that light vehicle production (LVP) will decline slightly in 2026.
Autoliv’s adjusted operating profit fell to $337 million from a year-earlier $349 million in the fourth quarter. Analysts had on average forecast a profit of $332 million, according to a poll provided by Autoliv.
“We expect Q1 2026 adjusted operating margin to be considerably weaker than Q1 2025, with improvements in the following three quarters,” CEO Mikael Bratt said.
Autoliv said on Friday its assumption for 2026 is that LVP will decline by 1%, and forecast full-year group organic sales growth of around 0%. It forecast a full-year adjusted operating profit margin of around 10.5-11.0%.
In the full year 2025, the margin was 10.3%, in line with previous guidance.
(Reporting by Tomasz Kanik in Gdansk, Marie Mannes in Stockholm, editing by Anna Ringstrom )
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