Autoliv lands profit beat as price hikes give boost

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Autoliv, the world’s largest producer of airbags and seat belts, posted earnings above market expectations on Friday, helped by a recovery in car production.

The company said a stronger than expected performance in June had been driven by price increases, a recovery in light vehicle production (LVP) and a patent litigation settlement.

“However, profitability declined due to higher raw material costs, currency movements, low and volatile LVP and lockdowns in China,” it added.

Autoliv reported adjusted operating profit of $124 million, down from $166 million in the year-ago quarter but easily beating a mean forecast for $48 million based on a poll of analysts published by the company.

The company narrowed its organic, or like-for-like, sales growth forecast for 2022 to 13-16% from 12-17% and its adjusted operating margin forecast to around 6.0%-7.0% from 5.5%-7%.

The company’s Sweden-listed shares, down 0.2% ahead of the report, were 1.9% higher by 1020 GMT.

The auto industry, pressured by supply-chain constraints and chip shortages, has been hit hard by soaring prices of energy and raw materials after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

(Reporting by Helena Soderpalm in Stockholm; editing by Supantha Mukherjee and Niklas Pollard)