Venture between F.N/KCHOL.ISFord Otosan Q1 net jumps 130 pct, to improve further3 hours ago via Thomson Reuters
* Q1 net profit jumps to 71 mln lira
* Sales climb 66 percent
* Profitability seen improving further in months ahead
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ISTANBUL, April 28 (Reuters) - Turkish automaker Ford Otosan <FROTO.IS> posted a 130 percent jump in first-quarter net profit to 71 million lira ($47 million), matching forecasts, and said on Wednesday it expected profitability to continue improving.
The average estimate in a Reuters poll was for a net profit of 73 million lira, with the forecast range at 54-100 million.
Sales in the first quarter at Ford Otosan, a venture between Ford <F.N> and Turkey's Koc Holding <KCHOL.IS>, surged 66 percent to 1.394 billion lira, short of an average poll forecast of 1.423 billion lira.
In the same period last year, profit had nearly halved and sales dropped nearly 60 percent as the Turkish automotive sector, central to the country's export industry, was hit hard by the economic slowdown.
However, the economy started to pick up in the latter part of last year and is on course to recover solidly from recession this year.
Ford Otosan said in a statement its operating profit margin had risen to 7 percent in the first quarter from 4 percent a year earlier as capacity utilisation, production and sales volumes increased.
"In the months ahead we expect a continuation of the improvement in our profitability together with a rise in production and unit sales," it said.
Ford Otosan's total market share rose to 15.1 percent at end-March from 13.4 percent a year earlier. Its market share in light commercial vehicles rose to 21.1 percent from 17.9 and in passenger cars to 10.1 from 8.9 percent.