PARIS, July 22 (Reuters) – French car parts maker Faurecia (EPED.PA) raised its full-year targets on Thursday while smaller supplier Plastic Omnium (PLOF.PA) made upbeat comments about the coming months as rising car demand boosted first-half results.

Carmakers and suppliers hurt by a deep industry crisis and a dramatic sales slump have benefited in recent months from scrappage schemes and rising emerging market sales, combined with an underlying recovery in economic activity in Europe.

Faurecia, which makes seats, exhausts and emissions control systems for carmakers including BMW (BMWG.DE) and Opel [GM.UL], said it saw product sales up 13-16 percent for the full year, compared with a previous target of a 4 percent rise.

Faurecia said it was aiming for over 340 million euros in operating income in the year as a whole, compared with an earlier target of over 200 million. Net cash flow would be over 100 million euros, rather than simply “positive”, it added.

Chief Executive Yann Delabriere told BFM Radio he expected the group to post a net profit for the year.

“We can easily imagine that the net profit will remain comfortably positive for the year as a whole,” he said.

Analysts had predicted first-half sales from car suppliers and carmakers would be strong, but warned there were still doubts about the second half as scrapping schemes fade and austerity measures kick in. [ID:nLDE66F083]

Plastic Omnium had a first-half net profit of 72.3 million euros, up from 8 million in the first half of 2009 and more than double the 31 million euros it posted in the full year.

The first-half operating margin reached 7.3 percent, compared with 3 percent in the first half last year. The group is expecting business to remain “dynamic” in the second half, it said in a statement.

Faurecia, 57.4 percent-owned by French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA), posted a 33.2 percent like-for-like rise in product sales in the first half to 5.4 billion euros. Overall sales rose 26.9 percent like-for-like to 6.8 billion.

Operating income swung to a 216.5 million euro profit from a 187.3 million euro loss in the first half of 2009. Net income reached 101.9 million euros, against a 364.6 million net loss.

The group said second-half sales would likely fall 5-8 percent in Europe. Sales soared in the second half of last year with scrapping schemes in full swing, providing an unfavourable basis for comparison.

Sales in the second half are set to rise 11-14 percent in North America and surge 20-25 percent in Asia, Faurecia said.

Faurecia last month set out ambitious growth and profitability targets and said it wanted to speed up development in Asia. [ID:nLDE65D11I]

For a story on truckmaker Volvo see [ID:nLDE66L06A]

(Reporting by Helen Massy-Beresford; Additional Reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by James Regan and Michael Shields)

PARIS, July 22 (Reuters) – French car parts maker Faurecia (EPED.PA) raised its full-year targets on Thursday while smaller supplier Plastic Omnium (PLOF.PA) made upbeat comments about the coming months as rising car demand boosted first-half results.

Carmakers and suppliers hurt by a deep industry crisis and a dramatic sales slump have benefited in recent months from scrappage schemes and rising emerging market sales, combined with an underlying recovery in economic activity in Europe.

Faurecia, which makes seats, exhausts and emissions control systems for carmakers including BMW (BMWG.DE) and Opel [GM.UL], said it saw product sales up 13-16 percent for the full year, compared with a previous target of a 4 percent rise.

Faurecia said it was aiming for over 340 million euros in operating income in the year as a whole, compared with an earlier target of over 200 million. Net cash flow would be over 100 million euros, rather than simply “positive”, it added.

Chief Executive Yann Delabriere told BFM Radio he expected the group to post a net profit for the year.

“We can easily imagine that the net profit will remain comfortably positive for the year as a whole,” he said.

Analysts had predicted first-half sales from car suppliers and carmakers would be strong, but warned there were still doubts about the second half as scrapping schemes fade and austerity measures kick in. [ID:nLDE66F083]

Plastic Omnium had a first-half net profit of 72.3 million euros, up from 8 million in the first half of 2009 and more than double the 31 million euros it posted in the full year.

The first-half operating margin reached 7.3 percent, compared with 3 percent in the first half last year. The group is expecting business to remain “dynamic” in the second half, it said in a statement.

Faurecia, 57.4 percent-owned by French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA), posted a 33.2 percent like-for-like rise in product sales in the first half to 5.4 billion euros. Overall sales rose 26.9 percent like-for-like to 6.8 billion.

Operating income swung to a 216.5 million euro profit from a 187.3 million euro loss in the first half of 2009. Net income reached 101.9 million euros, against a 364.6 million net loss.

The group said second-half sales would likely fall 5-8 percent in Europe. Sales soared in the second half of last year with scrapping schemes in full swing, providing an unfavourable basis for comparison.

Sales in the second half are set to rise 11-14 percent in North America and surge 20-25 percent in Asia, Faurecia said.

Faurecia last month set out ambitious growth and profitability targets and said it wanted to speed up development in Asia. [ID:nLDE65D11I]

For a story on truckmaker Volvo see [ID:nLDE66L06A]

(Reporting by Helen Massy-Beresford; Additional Reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by James Regan and Michael Shields)