Visteon Corp., which provides automakers with instrument clusters, audio and infotainment and other electronics, reported lower production for its big customers in every major global automotive market, which dragged down the supplier's sales and profits in the third quarter.

"Automotive sales and production deteriorated across all regions globally in the third quarter, resulting in a year-over-year reduction in Visteon's sales," CEO Sachin Lawande said in a conference call Thursday.

Visteon's revenue totaled $681 million in the third quarter, down 11 percent from a year ago. Net income fell 51 percent, to $21 million. For nine months, revenue was down 4 percent to $2.3 billion. Net income declined 20 percent year to date, to $121 million, the supplier said on Thursday.

Surprise slowdown

Production slowdowns in China and Europe affected Visteon customers worse than the industry average, the company said. Production volume for China fell 7 percent in the third quarter, but volume for the top Visteon customers in China dropped 15 percent, the company said.

"The sharp drop came as a surprise to the industry, as previously, China has been able to buck the global trends with respect to market stability," Lawande said.

In Europe, production volume fell 5 percent from a year ago; Visteon's top customers were down 6 percent, the company said. In North America, production for Visteon's key customers was down 2 percent, while the market was up 2 percent from a year ago, Visteon said.

Wrong mix

Overall, Visteon said production volume for its top 10 customers, which represent over 90 percent of total Visteon volume, fell 6 percent in the third quarter vs. a year ago. Besides lower consumer demand, the drop in volume also included several models that are being phased out, the company said.

Unlike some other suppliers with a truck-heavy mix, the U.S. shift to light trucks and away from sedans has caught Visteon at a disadvantage, the company said. So has the shift in Europe away from diesel, it said.

Future pipeline

On the positive side, Visteon said that through nine months, it had $5.4 billion in new-business wins, up 17 percent from the same period in 2017. Visteon's total order backlog as of Sept. 30 was $21.3 billion, an increase of 18 percent from a year ago, the company said.

"We are very happy with the new business that we are winning, which is all in the more emerging areas of the digital cockpit. This is where we expect to see continuous growth," Lawande said.

Visteon, of Van Buren Township, Mich., ranks No. 69 on Automotive News' list of the top 100 global parts suppliers, with parts sales to automakers worldwide of $3.15 billion in 2017.