Less than the sum of its parts

摘要

It is one of the world's top ten manufacturers of car components and makes everything from clutch systems to windscreen wipers. Recently, however, it opted for a change of gear. At a board meeting in March, Andre Navarri, Valeo's chairman and chief executive for all of ten months, was rudely shown the door. The company's annual results, battered by falling prices and declining orders from car manufacturers, had been badly received by the stockmarket when they were announced in February. In April the company reported a first-quarter loss of €179m ($165m) and said that it was going through its worst crisis in 15 years (see chart on next page).