LOCAL

Gentex reports fourth-quarter, year-end 2014 financial results

Staff Writer

The Holland Sentinel

Gentex Corporation, a Zeeland-based manufacturing company, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and calendar year that ended Dec. 31, 2014.

Gentex manufactures automotive automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, automotive electronics, dimmable aircraft windows and fire protection products.

For the fourth quarter of 2014, the company reported net sales of $350.4 million, an increase of 7 percent compared with net sales of $326.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2013. The increase was behind the forecast provided at the beginning of the quarter primarily due to end-of-year inventory adjustments at certain tier-one automotive customers, which are not expected to continue, a news release stated.

For calendar year 2014, the company's net sales increased 17 percent to $1.38 billion, compared with $1.17 billion for calendar year 2013.

The gross profit margin in the fourth quarter of 2014 was 38.4 percent, compared with a gross profit margin of 39.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, primarily due to higher-than-expected manufacturing costs related to new technology launches, the company's inability to leverage fixed overhead costs because of the lower-than-anticipated sales levels and annual customer price reductions, which were not fully offset by favorable purchasing cost reductions and improvements in product mix.

The gross profit margin for calendar year 2014 was 39.2 percent, compared with a gross profit margin of 36.8 percent for calendar year 2013, primarily due to favorable shifts in product mix, the impact of the HomeLink acquisition and purchasing cost reductions, which were partially offset by annual customer price reductions.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2014 was $71 million, up 2 percent compared with net income of $69.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. Net income in calendar year 2014 was $288.6 million, up 29 percent compared with net income of $222.9 million in calendar year 2013.

For more information, visit ir.gentex.com.