* Q1 EPS $2.21 versus consensus of $1.76
* Company raises 2011 sales outlook
* Shares up 2.6 pct (Adds details of earnings, updates stock action)
DETROIT, May 4 (Reuters) - Auto parts maker TRW Automotive Holdings Corp on Wednesday posted a profit on Wednesday that beat market expectations due to strong automotive production and raised its full-year sales outlook, sending its shares up 2.6 percent.
Despite the upbeat forecast, Livonia, Michigan-based TRW said it was cautious on the near term because of automotive supply-chain disruptions related to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
First-quarter net income at the maker of safety electronics and airbags rose to $281 million, or $2.13 a share, compared with $204 million, or $1.61 a share, in the year-earlier quarter.
Excluding one-time items, it earned $2.21 a share, easily topping the $1.76 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had expected.
"Vehicle production remained robust through the first quarter of 2011," TRW Chief Executive John Plant said in a statement. "However, we are cautious in the near-term due to supply chain disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan."
TRW said it expected production would recover from supply chain disruptions in the second half of the year.
The company also raised its full-year sales outlook to between $15.7 billion and $16.0 billion, from a previous range of $14.9 billion to $15.3 billion.
"While our sense is that most of the upward revision is likely currency related," Jefferies analyst Peter Nesvold wrote in a note for clients, "we view it as a positive that management was willing to do so into the risk of further supply chain disruptions emanating out of Japan."
TRW said that revenue in the first quarter rose more than 14 percent to $4.1 billion from $3.58 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected revenue for the quarter of $3.97 billion.
In midday trading, TRW shares were up 2.6 percent at $56.94 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Nick Carey and Ben Klayman, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Maureen Bavdek)