AUBURN HILLS. (AP) -- Auto supplier BorgWarner Inc. on Wednesday said its third-quarter profit rose more than sixfold, as sales of its powertrains shot higher, particularly in Europe and China. The strong results led the company to raise its forecast for the year.
Chairman and CEO Timothy Manganello said the quarter's results reflected new business growth.
"We grew in every major region of the world, most notably in China where our sales were up nearly 70 percent," he said in a statement. China now accounts for about 6 percent of the company's overall sales and sales there have nearly doubled in the past year.
Shifts in Europe toward vehicles with higher BorgWarner content, including diesels, also drove sales higher.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, BorgWarner posted net income of $106.7 million, or 87 cents per share, compared with 17.2 million, or 15 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding a $21.2 million gain related to foreign tax credits, adjusted earnings were 71 cents per share.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected profit of 63 cents per share. Analysts typically exclude one-time items from their estimates.
Revenue shot up to $1.41 billion from $1.03 billion last year. Wall Street projected revenue of $1.28 billion.
The company said it repurchased about 1 million shares of its common stock during the quarter.
BorgWarner now expects to post profit for the year of $2.85 to $2.95 per share, excluding one-time items, up from its prior forecast of $2.60 to $2.80 per share.
Wall Street is expecting $2.80 per share, with estimates ranging from $2.68 to $2.92, for the year.
The company said it now expects revenue growth of 40 percent over 2009, when it reported $3.96 billion in sales. That's up from a prior forecast for growth of 32 to 35 percent, and implies $5.54 billion in sales for 2010. Analysts have projected annual sales of $5.36 billion, with estimates rating from $5.17 billion to $5.5 billion.
"We expect our growth to outpace the market as demand for our products continues to gain momentum," Manganello said.
BorgWarner shares rose 64 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $54.45 in midday trading as the broader market declined.
Published: Fri, Oct 29, 2010
