VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- Auto parts supplier Visteon Corp. posted a fourth-quarter profit Friday, helped by cost-cutting moves and the hints of a recovery in the global auto industry.
Visteon said it earned $276 million, or $2.12 per share, after a loss of $346 million, or $2.67 per share in the year-ago quarter. The 2008 quarter was affected by a $200 million charge related to its business making interior parts for vehicles.
Sales grew 23 percent to $2.03 billion. The company said sales improved across all major regions where it sells parts, a trend Visteon said was a sign that industry and broader economic conditions are getting better.
Visteon, the top supplier to and a former subsidiary of Ford Motor Co., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May following a sharp downturn in the U.S. market for cars and trucks. However, overall sales began to pick up last in 2009.
Cost-cutting measures from Visteon's restructuring also helped the quarterly results. That included a $133 million gain from terminating some employee benefit programs.
For all of 2009, Visteon earned $184 million, or 98 cents per share.
Shares of Visteon, which trade on over-the-counter markets, more than doubled in morning trading, rising 7.6 cents to nearly 14.8 cents per share.
