American Axle turns to 2Q profit
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. reported a second-quarter profit on Friday after a big loss a year ago on charges. Its revenue more than doubled on a resurgence of the auto industry.
Driving the revenue gain was a recovery of the SUV and pickup truck market, which makes up a large portion of the company's parts sales.
Company CEO Richard Dauch said that American Axle expects the better results to continue into the second half of the year, with sales growth of 40 percent to 45 percent and strong profit margins.
Shares of American Axle rose 54 cents, or 5.9 percent, to $9.64 in midday trading.
The company, which supplies parts to companies including General Motors and Chrysler, reported net income of $25.4 million, or 34 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30.
That contrasts to a net loss of $288.6 million, or $5.20 per share, in the 2009 second quarter. During that period, American Axle had $191.8 million, or $3.46 per share, of charges from asset impairments, staff reductions, and costs associated with three plants.
The company's second-quarter sales jumped to $559 million from $245 million.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 27 cents per share on sales of $540 million. They typically exclude one-time items from their earnings estimates.
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