Gentex posts 18% gain in Q3 net income

Gentex posts 18% gain in Q3 net income

Mirror and electronics supplier Gentex Corp. saw its third-quarter net income climb 18 percent to $92.1 million as sales at its automotive unit increased.

Gentex, based in Zeeland, Mich., posted third-quarter sales of $429.6 million, up 10 percent from the year-earlier period. Gentex said the growth was driven by a 9 percent increase in auto-dimming mirror unit shipments from the year-earlier period.

Automotive net sales jumped 11 percent to $419.8 million in the third quarter.

Gentex shipped 9.1 million auto-dimming mirrors in the third quarter, up from 8.3 million in the third quarter of 2015. Interior mirror shipments were up 10 percent to 6.5 million units while exterior mirror shipments rose 8 percent to 2.6 million units.

In a call with analysts, the supplier said it has secured another automotive manufacturing customer for its full display mirror, which is currently found in the Cadillac CT6 and XT5.

Gentex reported earnings per share of 32 cents, up from 27 cents in the year-earlier period, beating analysts’ estimates of 30 cents per share.

The company also repurchased 1.8 million shares of common stock in the third quarter.

“Management is executing well, in our opinion,” wrote analysts from Wells Fargo in a report. “Better outgrowth vs. production, margin improvement and more significant return of capital to shareholders are potential catalysts. Risk/reward is favorable, in our view.”

Gentex typically serves as a bellwether for suppliers as it is one of the first of its peers to release its quarterly results.

Gentex ranks No. 97 on Automotive News’ list of the top 100 global suppliers, with worldwide parts sales to automakers of $1.5 billion in 2015.