American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. took a $46.3 million blow within the fourth quarter, however executives say consolidation within the inner combustion engine market and new enterprise in EVs will profit its stability sheet.

The driveline provider’s web loss reported Friday compares to a web revenue of $36 million a yr prior. Fourth quarter gross sales fell 14 p.c year-over-year to $1.24 billion, whereas 2021 full-year gross sales gained 10 p.c to $5.16 billion.

The corporate achieved a report adjusted free money move of $422.9 million final yr regardless of being hit by metal and commodity worth will increase, labor challenges, turbulent manufacturing and different business headwinds.

Buyers appeared unimpressed throughout a down day on Wall Avenue. American Axle shares fell 5.1 p.c to shut at $7.93 on Friday.

“Clearly the traders aren’t recognizing the total potential of American Axle relating to our EBITDA and money move efficiency,” CEO David Dauch mentioned on a name with traders. “We have solely gotten stronger as an organization over the past couple of years. We have used this disaster to essentially optimize our enterprise and actually on different issues that we have to do within the enterprise to generate that sustainable money move.”

The money move was pushed largely by the corporate’s steel forming enterprise, born in 2017 by way of the $3.3 billion acquisition of Metaldyne.

American Axle is benefiting from the results of extra suppliers bailing on the inner combustion engine to deal with different segments, such because the booming EV enterprise, Dauch mentioned.

“Clearly a few of our rivals, a few of the tiers within the auto area, indicated that they need out of a few of the powertrain or driveline applied sciences,” he mentioned. “We do not have an issue being a consolidator in that area.”

On the identical time, executives mentioned they’re working to develop American Axle’s EV portfolio and place it for long-term stability. The corporate mentioned Friday it had a gross new enterprise backlog of $700 million, comprised of 35 p.c EV-related enterprise in comparison with 15 p.c of its earlier backlog.

Nonetheless, the corporate’s core axle enterprise dominates from a income standpoint. American Axle secured “a number of next-generation full-size truck entrance and rear axle applications with world OEM prospects” price greater than $10 billion from mid-decade to past 2030, based on a information launch.

“We do see alternatives for additional consolidation in that area, and clearly we have to stability that with strengthening our stability sheet and in addition making the subsequent reinvestments in R&D to assist the pivot to electrification,” Dauch mentioned.

The corporate invested $15 million in Silicon Valley enterprise capital agency Autotech Ventures in a bid to spice up its electrification enterprise, it introduced this week.

Executives supplied Friday a 2022 gross sales goal vary of $5.6 billion to $5.9 billion and an EDITDA vary of $800 million to $875 million.

“We’re delivering on all the things we mentioned that we have been going to ship on and that we are able to management,” Dauch mentioned.