Valeo posts lower sales as auto industry weakness persists

By Mathias de Rozario

Oct 22 (Reuters) - French car parts supplier Valeo posted lower sales in third quarter, slightly below market expectations, amid continued weakness in the global automotive industry.

• Quarterly sales came in at €4.88 billion ($5.47 billion), compared with analysts' estimate of €4.93 billion in a company-provided consensus

• Quarterly sales fell 2.6% like-for-like from the year-ago period

• Original equipment sales fell 3.8% like-for-like, while aftermarket sales rose 3%

• Its brain division returned to growth, with sales up 8.2% like-for-like

• Original equipment sales fell most in China (-12.9%) and Europe (-7.1%), like-for-like

• "We have all the memory chips we need for this year, and next year we’ll be able to secure all the memory chips our customers need, provided they’re willing to pay the price," CFO Edouard de Pirey said in a call with journalists

• The company reiterated its full-year guidance and expects annual sales of €20 billion to €21 billion, operating margin of 4.7%-5.3%, and free cash flow to be above €400 million

($1 = 0.8921 euros)

(Reporting by Mathias de Rozario in Gdansk; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Diti Pujara)