Dana Corp. said its 2004 first quarter sales were $2.3 billion compared to $2.0 billion during the same period last year.

Net income for the quarter totaled $63 million, compared to net income of $41 million for the period in 2003. First-quarter 2004 net income included $2 million of unusual net gains on the sale of Dana Credit Corp. assets, while income during the same period last year included $10 million in comparable gains.
"We are very pleased with the continued progress demonstrated by our first-quarter performance," said Dana Chairman and CEO Mike Burns. "Our profit improvement was driven by a combination of higher production volumes, new business programs, and the continued realization of benefits from our restructuring and other cost-reduction efforts."
Two years ago, Dana began eliminating 11,000 jobs through plant closings and consolidations. First-quarter sales were up 17% over the comparable period last year.
While 2004 sales benefited from $125 million of currency translation, the majority of the sales increase was driven by new business programs and higher production volumes in the principal markets served by Dana -- particularly the North American heavy-truck sector.
Dana, which makes parts such as brakes and axles, employs more than 45,000
people worldwide.
Profit from continuing operations -- those operations not included in the company's proposed divestiture of its aftermarket business -- was $50 million in the first quarter of 2004, compared to $36 million during the first quarter of 2003. Excluding the unusual gains from DCC asset sales, this represents an 85% quarter-over-quarter improvement.
"Our improved profitability was evident in a higher operating margin," Burns said. "In fact, our margin improvement would have been even better if not for continued launch-related costs in our structures group. While these costs are not yet fully behind us, we took further actions to address the remaining issues in the first quarter and are confident that we will see improvement in the second quarter."