STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish car equipment maker Autoliv, said on Wednesday it was passing on tariff-related costs to its customers, and confirmed its full-year guidance after reporting a higher-than-expected quarterly profit.

US tariffs on foreign auto imports are expected to raise car prices by thousands of dollars, reducing demand and hurting job growth. The CEO of Autoliv, the world's largest producer of airbags and seatbelts, said the company was mostly affected by tariffs between the United States and Mexico and Canada, with the Americas region accounting for 33% of the company's net sales.

"Our navigation of the new tariff environment in the first quarter gives us confidence that it is possible to continue on that course when facing increasing or changing tariffs, although there is significant uncertainty," CEO Mikael Bratt said.

Continued uncertainty and rapid changes to the various trade measures have left companies struggling over how to best mitigate the impact.

Autoliv flagged in February that it planned to pass on increased costs due to tariffs to car makers while other parts suppliers such as France's Novares and Valeo (VLOF.PA), have said they expect their customers to cover the full cost of the new duties upfront.

The company's Stockholm-listed shares were up 7% by 1204 GMT, reversing a 2% fall from before the results were released.
Autoliv reiterated its outlook given in January for a full-year adjusted operating profit margin of around 10-10.5% on organic sales growth of around 2%.

It added that the guidance is based on achieving targeted cost compensation from its customers - which include Volkswagen, Stellantis (STLAM.MI), and Honda (7267.T), - for new tariffs and no further material changes to tariffs compared with current levels.

Adjusted operating profit rose to $255 million in the first quarter, from a year-earlier $199 million, on the back of 2.2% organic sales growth and cost cuts.

Analysts had on average forecast a profit of $202 million, according to a poll provided by Autoliv.