Profit leaps at GKN
PROFITS jumped 19 per cent over the full year for car and aeroplane parts maker GKN, as it was boosted by record profit from all four of its divisions.
GKN, which includes driveline, powder metallurgy, aerospace and land systems units, this morning posted a pre-tax profit over the year of £497m, up from £417m in 2011, on revenues 13 per cent higher at £6.9bn.
Profit at the group's driveline unit, which makes products such as drive shafts, chassis and axles, rose 21 per cent. Margins at the division, whose biggest customers include Europe's Volkswagen and Renault as well as US carmakers General Motors and Ford, were 7.3 per cent, up from seven per cent a year earlier.
However, GKN was cautious on its prospects for its autos businesses, which account for around 55 per cent of group profit, in 2013 given continued weakness in European auto demand.
The FTSE company hiked its dividend by 20 per cent to 7.2p a share.