Canadian auto parts maker Magna International swung back to profit in the second quarter, with sales up about two-thirds on the back of a revival in the battered North American car market.

The said it earned US$293 million, or $2.59 a share, in the quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $205 million, or $1.83 a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 63 percent to $6.05 billion.

Analysts expected the company to earn $1.46 a share on revenue of $5.4 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The second quarter has seen a 75 percent increase in light vehicle production in the North American market, and 13 percent in Western Europe.

Magna said it now expected 2010 consolidated sales to be in a range of $22 billion to $23 billion, based on full year 2010 light vehicle production volumes of about 11.5 million units in North America.

Magna released its results before the market opened. Shares of the Aurora, Ontario-based company ended on Thursday at C$75.73 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Will Waterman)

Canada