By Marie Mannes and Agata Rybska
(Reuters) - Sweden's Autoliv, the world's largest producer of airbags and seatbelts, said it expected its full-year operating margin to trend towards the upper end of expectations as a recovery in car production and cost cuts helped boost earnings.
Autoliv's adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to $171 million from $99 million a year earlier, bang in line with the average forecast by analysts polled by the company.
The Stockholm-based company now believes its adjusted operating margin for the full year will come in towards the high end of its previously announced 6.0-7.0% range.
Autoliv, whose competitors include ZF Friedrichshafen and Ningbo Joyson Electronic's Joyson Safety Systems, also said its balance sheet and cash flow trend "will allow for increasing shareholder returns" ahead.
Its Sweden-listed shares rose over 3% at 1113 GMT following the results after being flat leading into it.
The company delivers its equipment across broad swathes of the auto industry, a sector hit hard by supply chain issues, chip shortages and mounting costs.
The company warned in July that its profitability had declined as a result of lockdowns in China, higher raw material costs, currency movements as well as low and volatile light vehicle production (LVP). On Friday, however, it said cost reductions coupled with price increases and a recovered LVP had helped salvage its bottom line.
The Swedish company's passive safety systems, which include airbags and seatbelts, generates the bulk of company earnings whilst its electronics business makes radar products, vision systems and advance driver assistance software.