Bharat Forge Ltd, India's biggest automotive forgings maker, expects its China venture to post an annual profit for the first time since it began four years ago, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

"The Chinese joint venture has turned around completely," Amit Kalyani, executive director at the Pune-based company, said in an e-mail interview. "We are looking at expanding its product portfolio and increasing the customer base." 

Bharat Forge's billionaire chairman Baba Kalyani aims to tap demand for auto parts in China where car sales may climb by as much as 15 percent in 2011, according to estimates by General Motors Co and Volkswagen AG.

Sales of passenger cars to dealers in China increased 29.3 percent in November from a year earlier to a monthly record of 1.3 million units, the report cited data from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

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"The China operations will make a profit for the full year," said Bharat Forge spokesman, Rajhagopalan. "This is due to increase in capacity utilization, restructuring and improvement in efficiency parameters."

The venture's profits will be announced in May when Bharat Forge reports its full-year earnings, he said.