Magna International, the Canadian car parts maker which led a failed bid for General Motors’ Vauxhall motor business in the UK, swung into profit in the third quarter, despite a decline in revenues.

In September General Motors (GM) announced it had agreed to sell its Opel operations in Europe, which include the two Vauxhall plants, to a consortium including Magna and the Russian bank Sperbank. But earlier this week GM made a surprise U-turn, calling off the sale.

Investors, who had feared the Opel acquisition would be a drag on Magna’s bottom line, sent the company’s stock on an upward path, with shares closing up 8.5 per cent on Wednesday and adding a further 1.4 per cent on Thursday to close at $US44.20.

The company reported a profit of $51 million or 45 cents a share in the third quarter. This compares with a loss of $215 million, or $1.93 a share, in the same period last year when the company recorded a $234 million on-off charge for restructuring.

Sales in the quarter fell to $4.67 billion from $5.53 billion last year, as a result of "significant declines" in vehicle production in North America and Europe.

Magna, GM’s biggest supplier in the US, said that although North American vehicle production fell 20 per cent year on year, it rose by 32 per cent in North America in the third quarter as GM and Chrysler resumed production on emerging from bankruptcy.

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