Wheel Maker’s Profits Leap 60% for Quarter

Superior Industries International in Van Nuys said its fourth-quarter profit jumped 60% from a year earlier on a 20% gain in sales.

Superior, which manufactures wheels for the major U.S. auto makers, said its net income in the quarter that ended Dec. 31 rose to $4.34 million from $2.72 million a year earlier. Sales increased to $56.7 million from $47.3 million.

The company attributed the gains to increased demand for its aluminum wheels, which spurred higher sales to General Motors and Ford Motor Co.

For all of 1988, Superior’s profit climbed 39% to $13.1 million from $9.48 million the previous year, and its annual sales rose 18% to $200.2 million from $169.5 million.