VAN NUYS, Calif. – Superior Industries International Inc. have announced net income of $6.7 million, or 25 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2012. This compares with net income of $8.1 million, or 29 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2011.
Net sales for the 2012 first quarter increased $13 million, or 7 percent, to $202.5 million from $189.5 million in the comparable period a year ago, while unit shipments increased 11 percent to 3.1 million from 2.8 million last year. Gross profit in the first quarter of 2012 was $17.1 million, or 8.5 percent of net sales, compared with $16.9 million, or 8.9 percent of net sales, in the comparable period a year ago.
The company said the increase in gross profit reflected the benefit of higher unit sales volume and some improvement in overall cost performance. However, a slight decline in gross margin rate continues to show the impact of product mix changes resulting from competitive program bidding during the 2009 industry downturn. High-capacity utilization continued to result in certain factory costs, such as repairs, maintenance and supplies, exceeding those incurred in the first quarter of 2011. The cost for wheel development activities also was higher, Superior said.
“As the automotive sector continues to recover and we operate in a period of improving industry demand and sustained high-capacity utilization, I am pleased with the improved operating stability we are beginning to capture,” said Steven Borick, chairman, CEO and president. “Our factories performed extremely well in Mexico, and while we met very challenging volume requirements in our U.S. plants, there are still many steps to take in order to gain the improved cost leverage we believe is possible in our facilities. We remain fully committed to take necessary actions to improve the performance of our Midwest operations, where our challenges and improvement opportunities are the greatest.”
Income from operations for both the first quarter of 2012 and 2011 was $10.2 million, or 5 percent of net sales, for each period.
At March 25, working capital was $342.4 million, including cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $198 million. At Dec. 31, 2011, working capital was $335.7 million, including cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $192.9 million. Superior says it has no bank or other interest-bearing debt.
