Magna International raises sales outlook by as much as eight percent

Magna International Inc. is raising sales predictions by as much as eight percent in 2012 as the auto parts maker looks to new markets for growth.

The company said that it expects total consolidated sales this year to come in between $27.8 billion and $29.3 billion.

The outlook is above a forecast range of $25.6 billion to $27.1 billion made previously for fiscal 2011.

Magna said operating margins are targeted at about five percent, an improvement over the scaled back predictions of 4.75 percent made for 2011.

“Our outlook demonstrates the traction we are gaining in executing our plan to expand our business outside of our traditional markets,” said CEO Don Walker.

“We are taking advantage of the growth opportunities in new markets and positioning Magna to further serve our customers on global platforms.”

Magna said the higher 2012 projection is based on light vehicle production of about 13.6 million units in North America and 13 million in Europe.

The Aurora, Ont.-based auto parts giant also expects complete vehicle assembly sales to be between $2.3 billion and $2.6 billion.

Spending on fixed assets is expected to be between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion.

Magna has more than 107,000 employees at 286 sites in 25 countries.