Autoliv Q3 Profit Increases; Ups 2013 Sales Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Autoliv Inc. (ALV) announced an improvement in quarterly profit as well as raised its annual sales forecast.

Pretax profit for the period rose to $176.6 million in the third quarter from $175.1 million a year ago. Quarterly net income attributable to controlling interest climbed to $123.9 million, from $117.5 million last year. Earnings per share assuming dilution improved 5 percent to $1.29, mainly due to a lower effective tax rate and lower interest expense, net.

For the three-month period, consolidated sales increased by close to 9% to $2.12 billion. This growth compares favorably to the growth of around 5 percent expected at the beginning of the quarter. Currency effects were negligible, giving a similar organic sales growth of about 9%.

For the fourth quarter, Autoliv's strong organic sales growth is expected to continue by over 9%. The operating margin is likely to be around 9%, excluding costs related to antitrust investigations and capacity alignments.

Full-year 2013 organic sales are projected to grow more than 5%, as compared with the prior indication for growth at around 4%.