(Adds details on earnings, job cuts)
TROY, Mich., Jan 21 (Reuters) - Auto parts maker ArvinMeritor Inc. swung to a quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by cost cuts, and said it would eliminate 575 jobs in its light vehicle systems division due to excess capacity in the auto supplier market.
The company said it is closing its Gordonsville, Tennessee, plant that produces window regulators and sunroofs as part of its ongoing cost-reduction efforts. The cuts represent 3.6 percent of the division's work force of 16,000.
The company, which makes suspension systems and other products for cars and commercial trucks, stood by its November forecast that it would earn $2.50 to $2.70 a share in 2003, exceeding the average analyst estimate of $2.44.
But it gave a forecast for second-quarter earnings that was below analysts' consensus estimate.
ArvinMeritor, based in Troy, Michigan, said net income rose to $32 million, or 47 cents a share, in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a year-earlier loss of $31 million, or 47 cents, after a charge.
ArvinMeritor was expected to earn 47 cents a share on average in the first quarter, within a range of 43 cents to 50 cents, according to a Thomson First Call survey of analysts.
Sales in the quarter rose to $1.71 billion to $1.57 billion.
The company raised its forecast for 2003 sales to $7.8 billion from $7.1 billion previously.
It also said it anticipates a reduction to its 2003 earnings of 7 cents a share after tax due to stock option expensing. The job cuts and facility closing in its light vehicle systems business will cost an estimated 4 cents a share.
For the second quarter, the company forecast earnings in a range of 40 cents to 46 cents a share on sales of $2.0 billion. Analysts on average were looking for 53 cents a share in the second quarter.