Lear Posts Wider Fourth Quarter Loss on Unit Sale

Automobile parts supplier Lear Corp. on Thursday said its fourth-quarter loss widened on hefty charges related to a unit sale, as sales fell 3 percent hurt by production cuts by automakers. The company said it posted a quarterly loss of $645 million, or $8.90 per share, compared with a loss of $602.6 million, or $8.97 per share during the same period in 2005.

From AFX News Limited

SOUTHFIELD, MI — Automobile parts supplier Lear Corp. on Thursday said its fourth-quarter loss widened on hefty charges related to a unit sale, as sales fell 3 percent hurt by production cuts by automakers.

The company said it posted a quarterly loss of $645 million, or $8.90 per share, compared with a loss of $602.6 million, or $8.97 per share during the same period in 2005.

The results include a pretax loss of $607.3 million related to the sale of its automotive interiors business, restructuring costs of $42.5 million and a debt-related loss of $48.5 million. Excluding those items, Lear said it earned $63.2 million on a pretax basis in the quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast a loss of 19 cents per share. Thomson estimates usually exclude special items.

Revenue fell to $4.28 billion from $4.4 billion during year-earlier period. Analysts expected revenue of $4.14 billion.

The company blamed the revenue shortfall on production cuts by automakers in North American and the sale of its interiors business in Europe.