(Adds more details, CEO quote)
April 25 (Reuters) - French car parts maker Valeo SE on Tuesday reported first-quarter sales up 15% year on
year, in line with expectations.
The result was driven by its two main units - powertrain and
driving assistance (ADAS) businesses.
Valeo is betting on the acceleration of car electrification
and the adoption of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS),
as governments and companies shift towards a low-carbon economy
while the car industry experiments with the idea of driverless
cars.
Its Powertrain Systems unit, which produces electrical and
transmission systems for cars, and generates about a third of
revenues, added 33% in like-for-like sales during the first
quarter.
In particular, sales in the high-voltage electric powertrain
business surged by 69%. It has also recorded an order intake of
around 4 billion euros ($4.39 billion) over the period.
"Optimizing our costs and negotiating compensation with our
customers are our main priorities on the road to our 2023
objectives," said Valeo's Chief Executive Christophe Périllat.
The firm confirmed its 22-23 billion euros sales target for
this year.
Earnings in the three months to March 31 were 5.48 billion
euros, against the average forecast of 5.46 billion euros from
14 analysts polled by the company.
($1 = 0.9117 euro)
(Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Augustin Turpin; Editing by
David Goodman and Jonathan Oatis)
