Italy's Iveco ups 2023 guidance after operating profit jump

(Reuters) -Italian truckmaker Iveco on Thursday raised its earnings guidance for this year, after posting a 63.4% year-on-year jump in adjusted operating profit in the first quarter.

The manufacturer said its adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) from industrial activities would come in between 510 million and 550 million euros ($561-$605 million) this year, up from a previous forecast of between 460 million and 500 million euros.

Its EBIT from industrial activities stood at 134 million euros in the January to March period.

Iveco, which makes commercial vehicles also under the Astra and Heuliez brands, said profitability improved across its businesses in the first quarter, including Heavy-Duty Trucks, while order intake was above pre-pandemic levels.

"As in prior first quarters, our operations absorbed cash, having been more acutely impacted by the ongoing supply chain disruptions and component shortages, but we will fully recover during the year," CEO Gerrit Marx said in a statement.

Iveco was spun-off from farming and construction machine maker CNH Industrial and separately listed at the start of 2022.

($1 = 0.9084 euros)

(Reporting by Federica Urso, Editing by Alvise Armellini and Mark Potter)