GKN reassures on 2014 growth, shares rise

(Adds analyst comment, share price)

LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - British engineering company GKN reassured that it was on track for growth in 2014, posting third quarter profit ahead of expectations, helped a strong performance in its aerospace and automotive units, and boosting its shares.

GKN (LSE: GKN.L - news) , which supplies car makers such as Volkswagen (Xetra: 766400 - news) with components, reported trading profit for the three months ended Sept. 30 of 160 million pounds ($258.62 million), above a company-supplied consensus of 156 million pounds.

The company also said that 2014 would be "another year of progress", repeating guidance given earlier in the year that currency headwinds would adversely affect its reported results.

Its expectation for "robust" aerospace markets, where it supplies components to Airbus and Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) , was ahead of its previous forecast of "modest" growth.

GKN's shares rose 2.2 percent to 308.6 pence, making it one of the top risers on Britain's bluechip index. The stock had fallen 10 percent over the last month.

"A good update and better than the bears would have been expecting in recent weeks," Investec (LSE: INVP.L - news) analysts said in a note.

Analysts at Societe Generale (Paris: FR0000130809 - news) said GKN's execution "remains impeccable".

Analysts expect GKN to post annual pre-tax profit of 603 million pounds for this year according to Thomson Reuters data, compared to the 578 million pounds it made in 2013. (1 US dollar = 0.6187 British pound) (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton and Louise Heaves)