Hella raises full-year outlook on auto sector rebound

German auto supplier Hella on Monday raised its outlook after a better-than-expected rebound in business during the fiscal second quarter ending September.

Hella said its adjusted sales rose 4.4% to 1.8 billion euros ($2.18 billion), up from 1.7 billion euros in the year-earlier period.

The company's adjusted operating margin improved to 12.1% in the same period, up from 8.3% a year earlier. "The positive sales development is primarily due to the fact that we have received significantly more tailwind from the market in recent months than was assumed at the beginning of the financial year," HELLA Chief Executive Rolf Breidenbach said.

HELLA raised its forecast for the fiscal year 2020/2021 ending May 2021 and said it now expects currency- and portfolio-adjusted sales in the range of around 6.1-6.6 billion euros, up from 5.6 to 6.1 billion euros previously.

The company also expectes an adjusted Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) margin in the range of around 6%-8%. ($1 = 0.8250 euros)