
The producer of high-end televisions and sound systems, which struggled with falling demand for luxury goods during the economic crisis, said sales in sound systems for cars grew nearly 90 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier.
Sales in its main audio-video business grew 7 percent in the second quarter year on year.
Pretax profit was 36.4 million Danish crowns ($6.55 million) in the three months to the end of November against a loss of 47.6 million a year earlier.
The result beat the average forecast of 16.8 million crowns in a Reuters survey of analysts whose estimates ranged from 12 million to 20 million crowns.
Shares in Bang & Olufsen, which lost 23 percent in 2010, were up 2.4 percent at 63 crowns at 0807 GMT.
'Bang & Olufsen maintains the expectations that the 2010/11 financial year as a whole will result in a positive development in turnover and a positive result before tax,' the company said in a statement.
It slightly upgraded 2010/11 guidance for its gross margin, saying it now expected it 'to increase marginally compared to the 2009/10 financial year' against an earlier forecast of no significant deviation from the previous year.
Second-quarter sales grew to 775 million crowns from 669 million in the same quarter a year earlier, missing analysts' average forecast of 801 million in the Reuters survey.
It said its gross margin improved partly due to better margins in the audio-video business, higher turnover and more efficient utilisation of product capacity.
'The increase in turnover is owing to a general increase in both the audio-video business and automotive,' B&O said.
(Editing by Will Waterman)
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