Auto parts maker Linamar posts record year

Auto parts maker Linamar Corp. posted record sales and profit in 2014 amid new contract awards and the boom in North American auto production.

Sales hit $4.2-billion from $3.6-billion a year earlier, which led to profit of $320.6-million, compared with $229.8-million a year earlier. Share profit rose to $4.95 from $3.34.

"Financially, we saw double-digit sales and earnings growth, driven by market share growth in both our vehicle and [construction] markets, taking margins to record levels," Linamar chief executive officer Linda Hasenfratz said in a statement.

Those results generated cash that enabled Linamar to reduce debt to $437-million at the end of 2014 from $544-million a year earlier.

Linamar, based in Guelph, Ont., is Canada's second largest publicly traded auto parts maker by revenue.