SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) -- Vehicle parts maker Federal-Mogul Corp. reported a 4.7 percent increase in its fourth-quarter profit Wednesday as its revenue rose 12.8 percent, helped by growing global auto sales. Its shares rose 5 percent in morning trading.
Jose Maria Alapont, CEO of the Southfield, Mich., supplier of powertrain and safety components, said in an interview that the company is optimistic about growth for the next five years with global light and commercial vehicle sales expected to rise by almost 30 million to 104 million in 2015.
"We see ahead a very strong five years, one of the strongest maybe that the industry has ever seen," Alapont said.
But the company's profit and revenue growth is starting to slow a bit from levels reported earlier in the year. Alapont said future quarters will be compared against stronger numbers from 2010 as the company grew with the economic recovery.
Its shares rose 99 cents to $20.66 in morning trading Wednesday. Its shares have traded in a 52-week range of $11.99 to $24.03.
Federal Mogul reported net income of $45 million, or 45 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, up from $43 million, or 43 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose to $1.59 billion from $1.41 billion.
For the full year, the company reported net income of $161 million, or $1.62 per share, a big turnaround from a net loss of $45 million, or 46 cents per share, in 2009.
Alapont said the company likely will hire more people worldwide in 2011. He wouldn't give a specific number but said it would be proportional to the rise in global vehicle sales. Federal-Mogul now employs 43,000 people worldwide.
Federal-Mogul's cost of products sold rose 14 percent in the fourth quarter to $1.35 billion due to higher prices for raw materials, Alapont said. But he said the company has escalator clauses in contracts with customers.
"You can see the costs going up because we need to pay the market prices," he said. "We recover the pricing with the customer."
Jose Maria Alapont, CEO of the Southfield, Mich., supplier of powertrain and safety components, said in an interview that the company is optimistic about growth for the next five years with global light and commercial vehicle sales expected to rise by almost 30 million to 104 million in 2015.
"We see ahead a very strong five years, one of the strongest maybe that the industry has ever seen," Alapont said.
But the company's profit and revenue growth is starting to slow a bit from levels reported earlier in the year. Alapont said future quarters will be compared against stronger numbers from 2010 as the company grew with the economic recovery.
Its shares rose 99 cents to $20.66 in morning trading Wednesday. Its shares have traded in a 52-week range of $11.99 to $24.03.
Federal Mogul reported net income of $45 million, or 45 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, up from $43 million, or 43 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose to $1.59 billion from $1.41 billion.
For the full year, the company reported net income of $161 million, or $1.62 per share, a big turnaround from a net loss of $45 million, or 46 cents per share, in 2009.
Alapont said the company likely will hire more people worldwide in 2011. He wouldn't give a specific number but said it would be proportional to the rise in global vehicle sales. Federal-Mogul now employs 43,000 people worldwide.
Federal-Mogul's cost of products sold rose 14 percent in the fourth quarter to $1.35 billion due to higher prices for raw materials, Alapont said. But he said the company has escalator clauses in contracts with customers.
"You can see the costs going up because we need to pay the market prices," he said. "We recover the pricing with the customer."