Plymouth, Mich.-based Horizon Global Corp., a manufacturer of branded towing and trailering equipment, said Monday that its net sales in the recent quarter decreased $14.4 million, or 8.1 percent, to $163.3 million compared with the same quarter last year, primarily related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reports a net loss of continuing operations of $16.5 million, which it says was an improvement of $12.9 million over the year-over-year quarter.
“Horizon Global delivered a strong year-over-year performance and generated positive operating cash flow in the first quarter of 2020, despite the unfavorable impact of COVID-19 on our business and economies around the globe,” said Terry Gohl, Horizon Global’s president and CEO. “I want to thank Horizon Global’s employees for their commitment to maintaining our operations and excellent service delivery to our customers during these uncertain times. I also want to recognize their efforts in ensuring the health and safety of their colleagues, customers and those in the communities in which we operate.”
Gohl added, “As we resume our global operations, we are focused on providing a safe and healthy workplace for our employees. During the relaunch of our business, we are carefully managing our liquidity in light of the continued macroeconomic uncertainty due to COVID-19. We will continue to flex our operations and partner with our supply chain to service our customers and meet market demand. Importantly, our business continues to improve every day as we aggressively pursue our operational improvement initiatives in 2020.”
Among the positive takeaways from this morning’s earnings call:
* No mandatory furloughs or layoffs in the U.S.
* Horizon Global maintained partial operations throughout North America, South America, South Africa, and select locations in Europe.
* Delivered a strong year-over-year performance and generated positive operating cash flow in the first quarter of 2020.
* Generated $5.7 million cash from operations in Q1 2020, representing a $55.3 million improvement over prior year comparable period.
* Operating loss decreased by $6.7 million, reflecting a 340 bps improvement over prior year comparable period.
* Adjusted EBITDA improved by $4 million, reflecting a 240 bps improvement over prior year comparable period.
* Cost of sales improved by 280 bps over prior year comparable period.
* SG&A costs were reduced by $5.5 million, reflecting a 14.4 percent improvement over prior year comparable period.
* 32 Lean events conducted and implemented.
* First-time quality performance improved by 3100 bps.