Eaton’s Third-Quarter Profit Jumps 39%

Auto and truck components maker Eaton Corp. boosted its full-year earnings forecast as its third-quarter profit jumped 39%.

Net income rose to $268 million, or $1.57 a share, from $193 million, or $1.14, a year earlier, well over the company’s previous forecast of $1.25 to $1.35 per share.

Sales rose 18% to $3.57 billion, Eaton said Wednesday.

The company said its full-year operating profit will be as high as $5.55 a share, compared with its earlier forecast of $4.95 to $5.10 per share.

Its truck segment posted sales of $534 million in the quarter, up 33% from a year ago. Truck markets in the third quarter rose 28%, with U.S. markets up 24% and non-U.S. markets gaining 31%. Operating profit jumped to $74 million, from $25 million a year earlier.

“We are pleased with our 13.9% margin in the truck segment during the third quarter,” said Eaton Chairman and CEO Alexander Cutler. “This margin performance is particularly noteworthy given the currently depressed production levels in the [North American] Class 8 truck market.

Fourth-quarter truck markets “will continue to improve, although at a slower rate than in the third quarter,” Cutler said in a statement. “We now estimate our truck markets in 2010 to grow 26% versus our expectation of 23% at the end of the second quarter.”