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Auto-parts suppliers American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. and Visteon Corp. each reported improved first-quarter results Friday as a result of lower costs and improving sales, providing further evidence of an auto-industry recovery.

American Axle, which relies on General Motors Co. for 75% of its sales, reported profit of $16.3 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with a loss of $32.7 million, or 59 cents, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 30% to $521.9 million.

Chief Financial Officer Michael Simonte said the axle maker is benefiting from downsizing.

"We are seeing the results we expected after cutting our fixed costs by 50% over the past two years," Mr. Simonte said in an interview. "We are optimistic about the improving economy, but we know it is fragile."

Gross margin, or the difference between the cost of producing products and the price received for them, widened to 16.7% from 6.7% because of the restructuring.

Visteon, which filed for bankruptcy protection nearly a year ago and is still struggling to exit from Chapter 11, said earnings rose to $233 million, or $1.79 a share, from $2 million, or two cents a share. The latest quarter included a $237 million gain from the termination of certain postretirement employee benefits. Revenue rose 41% to $1.9 billion.

The supplier rebound is a relief for the U.S. auto industry, which has lost thousands of jobs amid the recession and has suffered through bankruptcy filings by GM and Chrysler Group LLC last year. Parts suppliers were hit equally as hard. Delphi Corp., Dana Corp. and Lear Corp. were among the two dozen that went through bankruptcy. Some, such as Collins & Aikman Corp., were liquidated.

The earnings improvements by American Axle and Visteon follow other solid reports. In the past week, turbocharger maker BorgWarner Inc. swung to a profit and raised its forecast, saying it now expects its 2010 revenue to rise 28% to 32% instead of its previous guidance for a 15% to 19% increase.

Dana, another axle maker, narrowed its loss to $31 million from $157 million, and Tenneco Inc., which makes shock absorbers, reported a profit of $7 million, compared with a year earlier loss of $49 million.

The brighter outlook for suppliers appears to be helping many small manufacturing towns, where some jobs are returning, but the hurdles for the suppliers aren't over. Smaller components makers that supply the larger companies continue to wrestle with the inability to access loans, and there is still too much capacity.

Most companies also will have to weather a temporary drop in auto production in Europe, where sales are softening as governments phase out incentives that encouraged consumers to trade in older models and boosted sales in 2009.