Shares in Superior Industries International Inc. gained 13 percent early Friday after the company reported that first-quarter profit rose 55 percent as lower expenses offset weaker sales.

Superior reported net income for the three months ended March 31 of $3.2 million (12 cents per share), compared with $2.1 million (8 cents) in the same period a year earlier. The results beat Wall Street’s expectations of 5 cents per share profit, according to Thomson Financial.

Sales for the Van Nuys company, which makes aluminum wheels, declined 9.4 percent to $222 million due to a United Auto Workers strike of American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. That company supplies Superior’s big customer, General Motors Corp. Analysts expected sales of $234 million.

Superior added that the strike was offset by a 12 percent decline in selling and administrative expenses to $219 million.

“The impact of the American Axle strike on our shipments to GM was directly responsible for just over half of the decrease in unit wheel shipments and approximately 40 percent of the decrease in units produced for this year’s first quarter versus the same period a year ago,” Chief Executive Steven Borick said in a statement.

Shares in superior jumped 10 percent to $21.78 in early trading Friday.