Lear fourth quarter profit falls on costs

SOUTHFIELD (AP) -- Auto parts maker Lear Corp. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 9.1 percent, as higher restructuring costs more than offset a sales increase. The maker of vehicle seating and electric power systems earned $106.5 million, or $1.03 per share, down from $117.1 million, or $1.08 per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 11 percent to $3.51 billion from $3.16 billion, as vehicle production increases in both North America and Japan boosted demand for its parts. Analysts, on average, expected a profit of $1.18 per share on $3.45 billion in revenue, according to a FactSet poll. Seating sales rose 8 percent to $2.7 billion, while electric systems sales jumped 21 percent to $838 million. Restructuring costs tripled to $56.7 million. For the full year 2011, Southfield, Mich.-based Lear earned $540.7 million, or $5.08 per share, up from $438.3 million, or $4.05 per share, in 2010. Revenue rose to $14.16 billion from $11.95 billion. The company said it still expects its 2012 sales to total between $13.85 and $14.35 billion, below average Wall Street predictions of $14.58 billion. Lear said its sales prediction is based on expectations of vehicle production increases of 5 percent and 9 percent in North America and China, respectively. And European production is expected to fall 5 percent, the company said. Published: Fri, Feb 3, 2012