ArvinMeritor Inc. plans to spin off its automotive parts unit into a separate stand-alone entity, a move that will allow the company to focus on the commercial-truck market while severing the very merger that created it almost eight years ago. ArvinMeritor shareholders will own all of the new company's, Arvin Innovation's, stock, which will trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ARVI symbol. More than 65% of the new company's revenues will come from outside the U.S., while business from Ford, Chrysler LLC, and General Motors Corp. will account for only 20% of the company's overall global sales. ArvinMeritor's automotive business, also known as Light Vehicle Systems, accounted for 34%, or $2.2 billion, of the company's overall $6.4 billion sales in fiscal 2007. It supplies roof and door systems, chassis, and wheel products. The commercial truck unit builds drivetrain systems and components including axles, drivelines and braking systems.
ArvinMeritor Inc. reported its first profit in five quarters, exceeding analysts' estimates as the maker of brakes and shock absorbers cut labor costs and gained from currency rates.Net income in the fiscal second quarter ended March 31 was $20 million, or 28 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $94 million, or $1.34, a year earlier. Sales rose 9.5 percent to $1.78 billion. A weak dollar and sales in Europe and South America helped offset slowing U.S. demand.
ArvinMeritor, Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Mascot Truck Parts Ltd., a remanufacturer of transmissions, drive axle carriers, steering gears and drivelines, based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
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