Sonova sees partial recovery in first half

lineup, a breakdown in relationships with its joint venture partners and dealers, as well as missteps by past management teams.

China sales for the second quarter climbed to 158,589 units, Ford said in a statement, attributing the rise to a stronger vehicle lineup including new sport-utility vehicles and locally-made luxury Lincoln cars and “strong demand following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions”.

By contrast, rival General Motors said its sales in China for the quarter declined 5.3% to 713,600 units.

Industry-wide vehicle wholesale sales rose 4.4% in April and 14.5% in May and are expected to grow 11% in June, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has said. In China, Ford makes cars through its joint ventures with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co and Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC).

In the United States, where sales have been hit by lockdowns and travel restrictions, Ford’s sales plunged 33% during the quarter.

Meanwhile, US electric vehicle maker Tesla is “very close” to achieving level 5 autonomous driving technology, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Thursday, referring to the capability to navigate roads without any driver input.

STOCKHOLM: Sonova, the world’s biggest hearing aid maker, said that it would close some stores and cut jobs as it expects its first-half results to only partially recover from the effects from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic hit hearing aid makers worldwide as many of their customers are over 70 and have been isolating at home to avoid catching COVID-19, the flu-like infection caused by the virus.

Sonova will reduce 4-5% of the jobs it had at the end of March by the end of the fiscal year, CEO Arnd Kaldowski told Reuters.

“We are already part of the way done because in the first quarter, we did not back fill a lot of positions,” Kaldowski said.

In the first three months of 2020, Sonova cut working hours and froze hiring.

The restructuring will cost 40-60 million Swiss francs ($42-64 million) this financial year and lead to annual savings of 50-70 million Swiss francs once the reorganisation is finished, Sonova said in a statement.

The Swiss company said it expects first-half sales to fall by 25-35% at constant exchange rates, compared to a decline of 36% expected on average by analysts in a Vara Research poll.

Its earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation (EBITA) margin should be in the single digits, in line with the consensus.

Kaldowski added the guidance takes into account Sonova’s first-quarter revenue drop of between 25% in Asia-pacific and 50% in the United States, where Sonova generates a third of its revenue.