Last year, Superior Industries International Inc. couldn’t get any respect on Wall Street. Despite consistently strong earnings quarter after quarter, investors were infatuated with tech stocks and barely noticed the Van Nuys-based car parts manufacturer.

This year, things are different. The company’s earnings continue to exceed expectations as it gears up to expand into what might be a new lucrative market for aluminum parts other than the wheels that have been the company’s traditional bread and butter and the Street has started to pay attention.

For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, Superior reported net earnings of $17.2 million (66 cents per share), compared to $14.5 million (54 cents) for the like quarter a year ago. That amounts to an 18.9 percent increase in earnings, while revenues increased by 10.2 percent, from $131.4 million in the third quarter of 1999 to $144.8 million in the third quarter this year. Superior’s third-quarter earnings beat the analysts’ consensus estimate of 63 cents per share, marking the fifth quarter in a row that the company’s results exceeded expectations.

Fueled by solid results and a positive outlook for continued growth, Superior’s share price has been climbing steadily this year, closing at $33.50 on Nov. 1, up 46 percent from a 52-week low of $22.94 back in February.

“We’re seeing growth both from our existing customers and from new ones,” said Jeffrey Ornstein, Superior’s chief financial officer. “The new Ford Focus has been very important for us, and we have had several orders from new clients in the last couple of months.”

Historically, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. have accounted for 90 percent of Superior’s business, but the company has been actively trying to broaden its client base, according to Ornstein.

In recent months, the company announced new contracts worth $120 million annually to supply aluminum wheels to, among others, DaimlerChrysler AG for its 2002 Dodge Ram pickup truck and Toyota Motor Corp. for its 2002 Camry.

In anticipation of this strong growth in aluminum-wheel orders, Superior has built a new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Chihuahua, Mexico, next to its existing facilities there. The new plant is scheduled to go on line during the first quarter of 2001.

Superior’s solid third-quarter earnings are even more impressive considering that they come at a time when other car parts manufacturers are reporting lower net results because of slower domestic demand for heavy trucks, the weak euro and plant shutdowns related to the Firestone tire recall.

A newly released equity research report by Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. states that “Superior was one of the only companies not to preannounce an earnings disappointment for the quarter despite the fact that the Explorer plant shut-down cost the company an estimated $0.02 per share.”

Moreover, according to the report, Superior has been relatively immune from the problems that have plagued other car parts manufacturers. That’s because Superior has no exposure to the heavy-truck market or the euro, and new orders and an expanding market share compensated easily for any loss of revenue caused by production cuts.

In fact, after Superior’s third-quarter earnings came out, four of the six analysts that cover Superior reiterated their “buy” recommendations, setting a target price as high as $38 a share within the next 12 months.

But it is not just the fact that Superior, already one of the largest suppliers of aluminum wheels, is expected to increase its market share even more in the coming years that has made analysts upbeat about its future prospects.

As car manufacturers are expected to shift to lighter materials to boost fuel efficiency, parts traditionally made of cast steel will increasingly be replaced by aluminum parts.

“New technology now enables us to forge aluminum parts that meet all the strength requirements of our clients,” said Steven Borick, a senior vice president at Superior and son of the company founder and chairman Louis Borick.

The company is already expanding its aluminum suspension manufacturing plant in Heber Springs, Ark., even before that plant has gone into production. Its size is being doubled from 150,000 square feet to 300,000 square feet, to accommodate the anticipated growth in demand.

In spite of the substantial investments in new manufacturing facilities, Superior is virtually debt-free, financing its expansion solely with its cash flow.