BorgWarner’s second-quarter profit beats on auto parts demand

(Reuters) – BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA) beat Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit and raised its annual earnings forecast on Wednesday as the auto parts supplier benefited from sustained demand, sending its shares up about 9%.

Demand for combustion and hybrid vehicles has aided auto parts suppliers as car manufacturers delay their EV ambitions to focus on higher margin gas-powered models instead.

BorgWarner will also restructure its ePropulsion unit, which makes electric motors, and said it expects the move to generate annual cost savings of about $100 million by 2026.

The company added that it plans to repurchase $300 million of its outstanding shares during the second half of the year.

CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson called BorgWarner’s results “one of the stronger ones among the U.S. auto suppliers” but said the research firm would maintain its “Hold” rating over concerns due to bloated inventory levels.

For the full year, BorgWarner forecast adjusted net income per share to be between $3.95 and $4.15, up from its prior view of $3.80 to $4.15.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.19 per share in the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts’ estimates of $1.01 per share, according to LSEG data.