UPDATE 4-Magna shares race higher on earnings, Opel fallout

Fri Nov 6, 2009 9:23pm GMT
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* Shares end up 14.2 pct in Toronto, 13.1 pct in New York

* UBS, BMO, Citigroup and CIBC up share-price targets

* Company renews focus on auto parts

* Shares up over 25 percent since Opel deal terminated (Adds details, updates share price)

TORONTO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Shares of Magna International Inc (MGa.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) surged nearly 15 percent on Friday, a day after it posted a surprise quarterly profit and said it would focus on its core auto-parts business after the collapse of its deal to buy a stake in General Motors Co's [GM.UL] Opel unit.

Magna, the world's third-biggest auto parts maker, reported its third-quarter results after market close on Thursday and said they benefited from cost cuts, as well as strong sales and margins in North America.[ID:nN05321916]

"When you look at North America ... we're more in the recovery stage (as compared to Europe)," Vince Galifi, Magna's chief financial officer, said in a conference call with analysts.

"Volume just started to pick up. We're taking a lot of restructuring and downsizing activities, so if revenue does pick up, we should see some bottom line improvement. Continued improvement."

Analysts had expected a loss of 19 cents a share for the quarter, but the company surprised with a profit of 45 cents a share.  Continued...

 
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