Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Autoneum's half-year results conference for 2025. It is a pleasure to address you today from our headquarters in Winterthur and to share the progress we have made in the first half of the year. In this presentation, I will walk you through the highlights of our performance, followed by our CFO, Bernhard Wiehl, who will present the financials in detail. I will then provide an update on our strategic direction, market developments, and outlook for the full year. As always, we will conclude with a Q&A session. Please remember that this conference call may not be recorded for publication or broadcast. Let me start with an overview of the achievements and highlights of the first half of this year. In a complex market environment, we maintained our momentum and delivered a solid performance, supported by our strategic positioning and operational discipline.
We achieved stable revenue thanks to inorganic growth, while meeting all our financial KPIs. Our EBIT margin remained resilient at 5.3%, only slightly below last year's level, despite an organic revenue decrease and some M&A-related expenses. We delivered robust operational free cash flow of CHF 48.4 million in the first half of the year, excluding the one-off M&A-related net cash outflow. This marks an increase from CHF 39.1 million in the prior year period and confirms we are very well on track for our full-year ambition. In addition, the net result rose significantly, reflecting our improved financial results. The acquisition of Jiangsu Huanyu Group is already contributing positively to the group's overall performance and represents a key milestone in Autoneum's strategic development. The enhanced presence in the Chinese market and improved access to local OEMs are fully aligned with our corporate strategy "Level Up".
Furthermore, we confirmed the successful turnaround in North America, and our organic revenue development outperformed the regional market, demonstrating the strength of our customer relationships. We are continuously growing our sustainable product portfolio for light vehicles and trucks. Asia remains a strategic priority. Last year, we opened two new plants in Asia: one in India and one in China. This year, we have significantly strengthened our customer portfolio and regional presence with our acquisition of Jiangsu Huanyu Group. In addition, we target to close the acquisition of Chengdu FEW Sichuan in the third quarter. This enables us to benefit from the growth potential of the Chinese automotive OEMs. Our BG Asia revenue saw a strong uplift thanks to the acquisition of Jiangsu Huanyu , and I'm happy to share that the integration is progressing smoothly and is fully on track. Organically, however, revenue underperformed the regional market.
This was mainly due to a continued reliance on Western and Japanese OEMs in China, whose production volume lagged behind local competitors. With the recent acquisition, Autoneum is now well-positioned to improve its organic growth trajectory going forward. We're also expanding our R&D activities in China, having established a dedicated R&D center focused on pre-development. This investment underscores our commitment to innovation and responsiveness to Chinese customers. Our extension in Asia continues to resonate strongly with customers, for example, through a first-project award of BYD in Thailand. Autoneum is recognized as a global market leader, with full access to all customers across any region. At Autoneum, innovation also means enhancing what already exists. That's why we focus on improving existing products and technologies while optimizing costs at the same time.
In addition, we develop next-generation solutions tailored to the demands of electric and sustainable mobility by building on our proven technologies and deep materials expertise. Since we kicked off our new "Level Up" strategy, we have filed 18 patents. Ten of these are for products for new mobility applications, and we have launched about eight innovations into the market. This approach enables us to lead globally in acoustic and thermal management while accelerating the transition to lighter, safer, and more circular products. Notably, we launched two innovative solutions: e-Fiber Flame Shield, a mica-free composite that can withstand extreme temperatures, pressure, and vibration, thus significantly increasing the safety of passengers in the event of a thermal runaway in the battery, and our Impact Protection Plate, made from thermoplastic composite material, that shields the battery of electric vehicles from impact, fire, and corrosion.
Autoneum's strong advanced development team at our headquarters in Switzerland is further enhanced by the research and technology capabilities in Bocholt, Germany, and the new R&D center in Asia. This global network strengthens our innovation power and ensures alignment with the specific needs of local customers and markets. These activities reflect our commitment: we deliver what we promise. Across all regions, Autoneum continues to perform dynamically and with a clear strategic direction. In Europe, we faced a market that declined more than everybody expected. Our strong footprint in this region meant we were particularly exposed to these headwinds. Nevertheless, we delivered a solid result. This was made possible by targeted structural adjustments and disciplined cost management. EBIT margin held fairly steady at 4.3%, demonstrating resilience despite volume pressure. Footprint adjustments in the UK, France, and Germany, along with operational improvements, helped stabilize EBIT.
We continue to optimize our operations to strengthen competitiveness in this key region. In North America, the EBIT margin of 5.1% confirms the successful turnaround. This result reflects not only improved operational efficiency but also disciplined commercial execution and a strong focus on cost control. Our teams have made significant progress in areas such as labor productivity, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. Importantly, our organic revenue development outperformed the regional market, demonstrating the strength of our customer relationships and our ability to secure profitable business, even in a contracting environment. While tariff discussions continue to create uncertainty in the industry, their impact on our business has been limited, thanks to our local-for-local production model and proactive commercial measures. For any tariff impact, we expect full reimbursement from our customers.
In conclusion, North America is now a solid contributor to group performance, and we are confident in our ability to build on this momentum. Asia remains a strategic growth region for Autoneum. Revenue rose significantly to CHF 143 million, driven by our acquisition in China. EBIT increased to CHF 11 million, despite purchase price allocation effects and temporary integration costs. We remain confident in the underlying strength and profitability of our Asian operations. While revenue declined organically, the integration of Jiangsu Huanyu Group is already bearing fruit. This acquisition gives us broader access to Chinese OEMs and strengthens our local presence. Finally, we have launched our new plant in Pune, and as already mentioned, we are expanding our R&D activities in China to support innovation and customer proximity. In the Stanleya region, we continue to deliver outstanding profitability. EBIT rose to $8 million, with a best-in-class margin of 14.7%.
Revenue in local currencies grew by more than 18%, driven by inflation-related price adjustments. Our teams manage volatility and currency challenges with great discipline. Stanleya's continued strong profitability confirms their role as a model of resilience and excellence. We are on track with our science-based ESG targets: minus 20% CO2, minus 40% non-hazardous waste emissions, and increased share of renewable energies up to 25%, all of this by 2027. Furthermore, we are committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. In our efforts to support sustainability and recyclability, we have made further strides in launching new products in the first half. In the first half, we launched NJOINT1, an innovative monomaterial carpet system made from recycled materials, which eliminates the need for latex and adhesives, and thereby offers an eco-friendly solution for vehicle interiors.
As well as, just a few days ago, FlexiLite PET, a polyester felt-based sound insulation system that is lightweight, resilient, and shapable, thus combining best-in-class acoustic performance and precise contours with enhanced recyclability. The strong interest we are seeing from customers in our sustainable product portfolio confirms that we are on the right track, both in terms of innovation and our long-term roadmap. I am also pleased to share that Autoneum has once again been recognized as a top employer in Switzerland by the renowned Top Employers Institute. This award reflects our ongoing commitment to creating an outstanding working environment for our employees. It is a testament to the strength of our culture, our focus on people's development, and the values we live by every day. Our employees are the foundation of our success, and we are proud to offer them a workplace where they can grow, contribute, and thrive. It is my pleasure to hand over to Bernhard Wiehl, our CFO, for the presentation of our financial results.
Thank you, Eelco. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us today. After Eriko's overview of Autoneum's overall business development in the first half-year 2025, I am pleased to provide a more detailed look at our financials for the period. To keep it simple, we will skip the overview slide with the key figures Eriko already mentioned and go straight to the detailed analysis, starting with revenue. In the first half of 2025, global light vehicle production grew by 3.1% compared to the same period last year. Growth was uneven. China saw a strong expansion, while Europe and North America declined. At group level, the acquisition of the majority stake of Jiangsu Huanyu Group in China added 4.6% in organic growth to our revenue in local currencies. Just a reminder, we have fully consolidated Jiangsu Huanyu since March 1 of this year.
Organically, revenue declined by 4% in the first half. This was mainly due to the weaker market development in Europe and in Asia. This is a result of our strategy. We don't just chase revenue; we focus on profitable growth. The market is facing overcapacity. In such a situation, existing suppliers often grow very aggressively to keep their business. That puts pressure on margin and limits profitable growth. That's why we aim for both organic and inorganic growth. Both create value, just like we have seen with the acquisitions of Forgas and Huanyu. Overall, Autoneum managed to grow during this period by 0.6% to CHF 1.22 billion in local currencies. Let's look at the revenue by business group. Business Group Europe's revenue in local currencies dropped by CHF 47.5 million, or 7.7%. That's more than the market decline of 3.4%.
In Business Group North America, revenue in local currencies fell by CHF 10.6 million, or 2.3%. That's better than the market, which declined by 4.1%. Business Group Asia saw strong revenue growth of CHF 52 million, or 53.6% in local currencies. This was driven by the Jiangsu Huanyu acquisition, which contributed to inorganic growth of CHF 55 million. However, organically, revenue fell by 3.6%, while the market grew by 7.8%. This is due to our revenue mix. In the first half, most of our revenue in China was generated with Western and Japanese OEMs, whose production lost further ground to the Chinese brands. Just to give you an idea, in recent years, Chinese OEMs have grown their market share in China from 54% to 68%. At the same time, Western OEMs dropped from 27%- 20%, and Japanese OEMs from 16% to just 9%.
Looking ahead, we expect our revenue mix to improve, thanks to the Huanyu acquisition, which gives us the access to the fast-growing Chinese OEMs. Business group Stanleya, which includes South America, the Middle East, and Africa, grew revenue in local currencies by $10.6 million, or 18.5%. This was helped by inflation-related price adjustments. On group level, revenue in Swiss francs dropped by $41 million- $1.17 billion. This was due to the negative currency translation effects of $48 million. The Swiss franc appreciated against almost key figures currencies for Autoneum. The biggest impact came from the Mexican peso, the U.S. dollar, the Turkish lira, and the euro. Let's now look at our operating performance. In the first half of 2025, Autoneum achieved a solid EBIT of close to $62 million Swiss francs. This reflects our strong results in a challenging environment.
The EBIT margin stays healthy at 5.3%, just slightly below last year's 5.4%. In business group Europe, EBIT came in at some $24 million Swiss francs. The EBIT margin was 4.3%, just 0.2 percentage points below the prior year period. This stable result was achieved through strict cost control. We adjusted our direct and indirect workforce in line with the demand. We also applied consistent price management and continued to optimize our footprint, especially in the UK and in Germany. This shows our proven approach. We flex costs in the short term and adapt our structure for the long term. Business group North America continued to perform well. EBIT increased slightly to $21.5 million Swiss francs, despite lower volumes. The EBIT margin improved to 5.1%, up from 4.6% last year. This reflects the success of our ongoing efficiency measures.
We haven't seen any major impact from the tariffs introduced or expected by the current U.S. administration. We are prepared. We have contingency plans in place to pass on any additional costs to our customers. In business group Asia, EBIT rose by $3 million- $11 million Swiss francs, thanks to higher revenue. The EBIT margin dropped slightly to 7.7%, mainly due to the integration costs and additional depreciation amortization charges from the Huanyu acquisition. Business group Stanleya delivered an EBIT of $8 million Swiss francs, up from $7.6 million. This was driven by higher efficiency and strong inflation management. The EBIT margin improved to an excellent 14.7%, compared to 13.3% a year ago. To complete the income statement, despite organic revenue decrease and temporary M&A-related costs, we managed to slightly improve our EBITDA margin to 10.7%. This shows our ability to flex costs effectively.
Even with the current dynamic and challenging environment in the automotive market, our net result increased to CHF 40.7 million, up by CHF 4.6 million compared to the same period last year. This improvement was driven by a better financial result, up by CHF 8.6 million. On the one hand, foreign exchange losses were much lower than in the prior year period. On the other hand, we also benefited from the lower interest costs in Switzerland, where we raised a large part of our borrowings. As a result, earnings per share rose by CHF 5.16, compared to CHF 4.86 a year ago. Let's turn on to the balance sheet. The total assets increased to CHF 1.8 billion, up from CHF 1.6 billion at the end of 2024. This increase was mainly driven by our recent acquisition in China.
As a result of this transaction, the net debt rose to CHF 450 million, compared to some CHF 400 million at the end. The net debt to EBITDA ratio is at 1.8 times, remains close to our midterm target of below 1.5 times. Equity decreased by CHF 27 million to CHF 577 million. The EBIT ratio dropped by 4.6 percentage points to 32.4% as of June 30th this year. This reflects mainly the impact of the acquisition on the total assets, as well as the negative currency translation effects of close to CHF 44 million, which are recorded directly in equity. Let's now take a quick look at the cash flow statement. Operating cash flow increased slightly in the first half to CHF 69 million. This was despite slightly higher build-up of net working capital.
Free cash flow, before one-off acquisition-related net cash outflow, came in at around CHF 48 million. That's well above last year's CHF 39 million, mainly due to slightly lower investments in tangible assets. Including the net cash outflow of CHF 32.3 million for the acquisition in China, total free cash flow was CHF 16 million. To conclude, despite global trade uncertainties and mixed production trends across the regions, Autoneum delivered again resilient financial performance in the first half year. What we could influence, we have successfully managed. We flexed our costs with a positive impact on the EBITDA margin. We increased the net result and delivered increased cash flows. Our strategic acquisition in China will strengthen our market position and boost our competitiveness. They support our "Level Up" strategy and help us to accelerate global growth. Thank you very much for your attention. I will now hand back to Eelco, who will share the outlook of the rest of the year.
Thank you, Bernhard. Thank you. These solid financials are the foundation for the next phase of Autoneum's strategic journey. I will now outline our progress regarding the six pillars, which define our company's strategy "Level Up" before sharing our outlook. First, a future-fit product portfolio. We are aligning our portfolio with the future of mobility by focusing on recyclability, lightweight sustainability, and EV-ready solutions. Some strong examples are our frunk, e-motor encapsulation, e-Fiber Flame Shield, Impact Protection Plate, and 100% polyester-based interior components. All these new products support the second pillar "Innovate to Create Customer Value." Combined with our close customer relationships, we are committed to generating value. Autoneum accelerated its global growth in the first half of 2025 through a targeted strategic acquisition and regional expansion.
With the acquisition of Jiangsu Huanyu Group, we are on track to reach our goal to generate 20% of group revenue in Asia over the medium term. While we make good progress with our cross-selling and truck sales initiatives, we must continue to focus on a year-over-year high level of order intake to compensate for lower order intake from prior years. Autoneum continues to foster a people-centric culture as a core pillar of its "Level Up" strategy. Recognized for the second time in a row as a top employer in Switzerland, we target significant progress in our engagement score, which we evaluate on a yearly basis via the Gallup employee engagement survey. Autoneum continues to set the sustainability benchmark in the automotive industry by embedding environmental responsibility into its innovation and operations.
In the first half of 2025, the group launched several new products and continued to progress well on all ESG targets, as previously explained. Finally, we must boost our cost competitiveness and adjust our organization to the latest market volume developments. Through smart footprint consolidation, especially in Europe and North America, operational excellence, and SG&A cost reductions, we see more potential to improve our performance. Looking ahead, we expect the global automotive industry to remain in a phase of consolidation. Global vehicle sales are projected to reach 89.9 million units in 2025, a modest 0.4% year-over-year increase. Growth will be uneven across regions, with Asia, especially China and India, contributing positively, while Europe and North America face headwinds. Furthermore, the second half year will most likely have similar volumes as the first half of 2025.
Even in this globally subdued and regionally uneven market environment, characterized by stagnating production volumes and regional headwinds, Autoneum is well prepared. Our decentralized approach and strong customer relationships enable us to respond swiftly to local market dynamics. The local-for-local strategy enhances our resilience and shields us from major tariff risks. We remain vigilant and committed to working closely with our customers to navigate potential challenges. Our 2025 guidance remains unchanged, and we are confident that we will achieve our targets: CHF 2.3 to 2.5 billion in revenue, a 5 to 6% EBIT margin, and around CHF 100 million in free cash flow, excluding the one of M&A-related net cash outflow. On behalf of the Group Executive Board, I would like to thank our employees, partners, and shareholders for their continued support and trust. Your commitment enables us to shape the future of sustainable mobility together.
For your information, our financial year 2025 revenue publication is scheduled for January 23, 2026, of course. You can find all upcoming investor events and contact details on our website. Thank you for your time and interest. We now conclude today's conference. As always, it was a pleasure speaking with you. Thank you.
Thank you.