By Dominic Chopping
STOCKHOLM–Autoliv on Friday raised full-year sales growth guidance after global light vehicle production developed better than expected in the third quarter, despite the United Auto Workers strike in the U.S.
The Swedish maker of airbags and safety belts said sales rose 13% to $2.6 billion in the period, in line with the $2.59 billion company-compiled consensus, while the adjusted operating margin rose to 9.4% from 7.5% last year.
However, net profit for the period of $134 million missed a FactSet-compiled analysts’ forecast of $152 million.
The company said the quarter saw improvements in gross and operating margin, labor efficiency, selling, general and administration costs as well as research and development expenses.
“We have continued to see an improvement of supply-chain stability throughout the year, with reduced customer call off volatility,” said Chief Executive Mikael Bratt. “However, the improvement is slower than we had expected, as it deteriorated somewhat in Europe in 3Q.”
This, together with the higher sales and adverse currency development, means that Autoliv expects a fourth quarter adjusted operating margin improvement year-on-year of around 1.5 to 2 percentage points.
The company now sees 2023 organic sales growth of around 17%, from around 15% previously, while the adjusted operating margin is still seen at 8.5% to 9.0%.
Write to Dominic Chopping at [email protected]
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