Despite “an unrelenting automotive operating environment,” TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. reported net earnings of $13 million ($0.13/share) on sales of $2.7 billion for Q3, ended Sept. 24, compared with a net loss of $34 million ($0.39/share) on sales of $2.5 billion for Q3 2003.

President and CEO John C. Plant said Q3 sales increased approximately 8% despite “pricing provided to customers” and a Q1 divestiture. In January, Universal Automotive Industries, Inc. acquired assets of TRW’s Kelsey-Hayes subsidiary that had generated 2003 sales of approximately $55 million. Plant credited a higher level of sales from new product areas, and foreign currency translation.

For the nine months ended Sept. 24, TRW Automotive reported net earnings of $91 million ($0.93/share) on sales of $8.8 billion. Excluding expenses related to a January 2004 refinancing of its bank debt, year-to-date earnings were $139 million ($1.39/share). Year to date, TRW Automotive has cut its gross debt by $569 million.

In the seven months of 2003 following the Blackstone Group’s acquisition of TRW’s automotive business from Northrop Grumman, the company reported a net loss of $100 million ($1.15/share) on sales of $6.5 billion. The first two months of 2003 saw earnings of $31 million on sales of $1.9 billion.