Hella reported earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of 46 million euros for its June to May financial year, compared with 19 million a year earlier.
Net earnings were between 15-20 million euros for the period, Hella spokesman Ulrich Koester told Automotive News Europe.
This compares with a net loss of 21 million euros from the previous financial year, when Hella suffered from cost pressure in its lighting division.
Sales in the year ending May 31 rose 8 percent to 3.7 billion euros, Hella said.
Driven by new products, such as LED headlamps, Hella hopes for a medium-term increase in sales to 6 billion euros. It targets annual net profit of 200 million euros, a 10-fold increase.
Cost cutting
Cost cuts were ahead of target, Hella said. Some 100 million euros had been saved in the 2006/2007 financial year, more than the 75 million euro reduction that had been planned.
In an effort to reduce costs further, Hella is seeking to move production out of Germany where labor costs are high. It has lighting plants in Spain, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.
After months of negotiations, Hella secured a deal with German labor union IG Metall last year that would allow it to make up to 1,600 redundancies at its German factories by 2011.
Almost 300 people left Hella last year, without recourse to lay offs, the company said.
The company is also in the process of closing a plant in Banbury, central England, with the loss of 450 jobs. Spokesman Koester said the plant was due to close by December 2007.
Privately owned by the Hueck family, Hella is ranked No. 23 on Auomitive News