Volvo first-quarter profit in line with forecast, raises North America outlook

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - World number two truck maker Volvo posted a rise in quarterly core earnings in line with expectations on Friday as firmer demand in its main markets offset lingering costs for a vast renewal of its model range and fierce currency headwinds. Volvo, Sweden's biggest company by sales and top private sector employer, also raised its outlook for the North American truck market and said it would raise production there slightly, but lowered its guidance somewhat for the Brazilian market. The company, vying for market leadership with Germany's Daimler , said first-quarter operating earnings excluding restructuring charges rose to 2.59 billion Swedish crowns from a year-ago 496 million, roughly on par with a mean forecast 2.52 billion in a Reuters poll of analysts. (Reporting by Niklas Pollard and Johannes Hellstrom)