Garmin posts higher quarterly profit

By Franklin Paul

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Garmin Ltd (GRMN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday on strong sales of its personal navigation devices and raised its outlook to be in line with market expectations.

But shares of the company fell 6 percent after it made an unsolicited bid for Dutch map maker Tele Atlas TA.AS, which had already agreed to be bought by rival navigation device maker TomTom (TOM2.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), sparking market chatter of a bidding war.

Garmin's 2.3 billion euro ($3.3 billion) offer for Tele Atlas trumped TomTom's by 15 percent.

Garmin, the world's largest maker of navigation devices, said its third-quarter profit rose to $193.5 million, or 88 cents a share, from about $123 million, or 56 cents a share a year earlier.

Excluding special items, profit was 89 cents a share, beating the average analyst expectation of 82 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue soared 79 percent to $729 million, fueled by gains in its automotive and aviation segments.

"All areas of the business performed well, but the PND (personal navigation device) business was again the stand out, with revenue of $518 million beating our $498 million estimate," analyst Yair Reiner of CIBC World Markets said in a note to clients.

Looking ahead, Garmin voiced its optimism about the remained of the year, and said it sees earnings exceeding $3.40 per share, on revenue of more than $2.9 billion, matching analysts view, according to Reuters Estimates.