Horizon Global has reported fourth quarter and full-year financial results for 2019. Net sales for the full year were $690 million, a decrease of $23.5 million, or 3.3 percent. Net sales for the fourth quarter were $142.3 million; increase of $4.5 million, or 3.3 percent.
“Since my appointment as CEO in September 2019, I am encouraged by the progress we have made,” said Terry Gohl, Horizon Global’s president and CEO. “We are executing our operational improvement initiatives across all facets of the business and we continue to identify new opportunities every day. We are moving with speed and purpose to improve our underlying operations and service to our customers. We expect that our progress will result in substantially improved margins and free cash flow, and, importantly, create value for our shareholders in 2020 and beyond.”
Horizon Global also announced that Dennis Richardville has been named the company’s CFO, effective immediately.
Richardville has served as VP and corporate treasurer for the company since January. Before joining the company, Richardville served as CFO of Dura Automotive Systems from August 2019 to September 2019.
The company also announced that Richard Jok, who is currently on medical leave and has been serving as the company’s interim CFO since Dec. 13, 2019, will return to his role as the company’s VP of financial planning and analysis.
Net sales in Horizon Americas for the fourth quarter were $72.1 million, representing an increase of $1.2 million, or 1.6 percent, over prior-year comparable period. Net sales in the automotive OEM and e-commerce sales channels were up a combined $5.3 million, partially offset by a combined $4.2 million decrease in sales in the retail, industrial and aftermarket sales channels. Gross profit increased $3.4 million, in part due to reduced fines and penalties in the retail sales channel, partially offset by $3.5 million of increased scrap costs and inventory reserves.
“Horizon Global’s 2019 results reflect the many challenges we faced during the year,” said Gohl. “We are not satisfied with this performance, we expect this company to be an industry leader and we are confident that we have the team, brands and focus to solidify ourselves as the supplier of choice across the markets we serve. We will continue to execute our well-defined operational improvement initiatives and capitalize on new opportunities.”