You are given a text that consists of multiple sentences. Your task is to perform abstractive summarization on this text. Use your understanding of the content to express the main ideas and crucial details in a shorter, coherent, and natural sounding text. 
Text: Presenting today are Ray Scott, Lear President and CEO; and Jason Cardew, Senior Vice President and CFO.
Other members of Lear senior management team have also joined us on the call.
The agenda for today's call is on Slide 3.
First, Ray will review highlights from the quarter and provide a business update.
Jason will then review our third quarter financial results and our full-year 2021 outlook.
Finally, Ray will offer some concluding remarks.
Now I'd like to invite Ray to begin.
The third quarter was marked by the continuation of supply chain challenges the auto industry has been facing.
Our financial results were negatively impacted not only by significant volume reductions versus last year but also by low visibility from our customers leading to short notice production shutdowns.
Slide 6 highlights numerous achievements in the quarter, including innovation, quality, awards, and strategic investments in both business segments.
In the third quarter, Lear's sales growth outpaced the market by 9 percentage points with strong growth over market in both Seating and E-Systems, continued new business wins as well as products that are favorably aligned with the industry shift to electrification are expected to deliver continued growth above market over the next several years.
Last week, we announced the acquisition of substantially all of Kongsberg Automotive Interior Comfort Division, which will further strengthen our industry-leading Seating business.
On the E-System side, we announced agreements to form two separate joint ventures, which will further enhance our capabilities in electrification.
The joint venture with Hu Lane, which we expect will close later this year will further enhance our growing portfolio of connectors capabilities for both high voltage and low voltage applications.
This joint venture -- The joint venture with Shinry, when agreed on complementary portfolios of advanced onboard chargers from Lear and Shinry and increased access to a broad range of customers.
We also continue to be recognized across both of our business segments for excellence and innovation and quality.
We won our third consecutive Automotive News PACE award and two PACEpilot awards, more than any other supplier.
Lear has long been known as a leader in Seat quality and this year we won more than twice as many Seat Quality awards from J.D. Power as any other company.
We increased cash returns to shareholders in the quarter by doubling our dividend and buying back more stock.
In total, we returned $100 million to shareholders during the quarter.
We also increased our credit agreement to $2 billion and extended the maturity to 2026.
With respect to capital allocation, we continue to follow a balanced plan that includes organic investment, inorganic investment, and returning excess cash to our shareholders.
Turning to Slide 7, our seating business continues to grow faster than the market, reflecting our strong position in SUVs, CUVs in luxury vehicles.
In the third quarter seating growth over market was 8 percentage points, reflecting new business and the Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport, the Hyundai Tucson and strong performance on the luxury brands in Europe, the seating also benefited from strong demand from GM's full size SUVs.
During the quarter, we were awarded key programs with GM, BMW, Stellantis, Nio and Great Wall.
And there are additional programs we expect to be sourced prior to the year-end.
We also received a new development award for our award winning configure plus product.
This award is with the European OEM and is expected to launch in 2026.
Customer interest in our patent protected configure plus product remains very high.
We continue to move forward on key launches in the quarter, including a new plant in Canada to supply seats for GM's large pickup trucks, at the reopened Oshawa plant.
Other key ongoing launches are highlighted on this slide.
A few weeks ago, we broke ground on our new energy-efficient jet facility in Detroit to supply seats for GM battery electric truck programs.
I've already touched on the Innovation and Quality awards we received in Seating, but I want to spend a little bit more time explaining the PACEpilot award for thermal comfort.
This new product that was developed jointly with Gentherm integrates, intelligent climate control software into a complete seating system.
The algorithms and software controls were developed by Lear.
They use a combination of occupant temperature data, seat position and cabin temperature to optimize energy usage within the vehicle and keep passengers at an optimal temperature.
Kongsberg is a recognized automotive supplier specializing in luxury comfort seating solutions, with strong market positions in massage, lumbar, seat heat and ventilation systems, comfort features continue to be of increasing importance as automakers look to improve the driving experience through product differentiation in Increased efficiency and improved performance, especially in luxury SUV in electric vehicle segments.
The company has almost 50 years of experience in seating comfort solutions.
Technical centers and sales offices in three different continents, and an experienced and dedicated team with approximately $300 million of annual revenue.
Kongsberg has well-balanced customer portfolio built on long-standing relationships with leading premium automakers.
Kongsberg is a global leader in-seat massage and he has a number 3 position in lumbar and adjustable comfort.
The company is a technology leader with expertise in Pneumatic Comfort Systems and patented technology that enables superior performance, weight reduction in packaging flexibility In addition to performance benefits, there also much player, which is even more important in electric vehicles where noise will be much more noticeable.
Kongsberg also has a strong market position as the number 2 player Heat Mats and the number 4 player in Vent Systems for thermal comfort.
On Slide 9, I will highlight how Kongsberg will enhance our competitive advantage in Seating.
This acquisition is consistent with other acquisitions we have made over the past decade to enhance our vertical integration capabilities.
These moves have enhanced growth in margins and extend our market leadership in luxury and premium seating.
This acquisition extends our capabilities in Comfort Systems Solutions.
Further, solidifying our position is the most vertically integrated seating supplier while bringing additional price of a content to our offerings.
It strengthens our ability to serve EV, luxury, SUV customers and to provide them with the next level vertically integrated design solutions.
Integrating Kongsberg in Lear's operations solidifies our strategy to offer a complete suite of luxury comfort seating solutions to our OEM customers and ultimately to the consumer.
This combination will enable Lear to improve overall seat system performance by offering more efficient, lower weight, and flexible packaging design solutions.
The total addressable market for massage, lumbar heat, ventilation products is estimated at $2.5 billion to $3 billion.
IHS trend data indicates this market will grow about 2 percentage points faster than the vehicle production over the next five years.
Based on our assessments of industry, mega trends, we expect the market to grow even faster in that timeframe and beyond.
Customers are looking for features to improve the driving experience.
As cars become smarter, a higher emphasis is being placed on interior comfort.
We are already seeing this with luxury in EV customers.
And we anticipate this trend and focus on interior comfort to further increase when a autonomous cars come to market.
We also expect increased adoption of seating comfort products beyond the luxury segments into higher volume vehicle segments.
In addition, we believe that by creating a more efficient packaging solution, we will see more proliferation of seating comfort systems in the rear seats.
And perhaps the biggest opportunity which will unfold over a longer term will come with the acceleration in electrification, which requires more efficient, heating and cooling systems in the cabin.
Our expertise in software and algorithms combined with heating and cooling products from Kongsberg and our other partners will position us as one of the leaders in this area.
Slide 10 highlights Lear's leading performance in the latest J.D. Power US seat quality of sales section study.
For years, Lear has consistently been recognized is by the industry experts and our customers as a leader in seat quality.
In the latest J.D. Power seat quality survey, Lear was the only seat supplier to win two first-place awards.
We also won five additional awards and more than twice as many total awards as any other seat supplier.
Our leadership in luxury and SUVs was evident by the multiple awards in both categories.
The bread of our wins was notable as well, with awards for products with six different OEMs and in six of the seven different categories.
In the third quarter, new system sales grew 9 percentage points faster than the market, reflecting new business on the Ford Bronco Sport in the Mustang Mach-E in North America and strong performance in connection systems in Europe and with Geely and the Great Wall in China.
We have one -- over $1 billion in business awards so far this year.
Over 80%, which are new for Lear.
Based on awards to date, our 2022 to 2024 backlog is expected to be higher than our prior three-year backlog.
We will update and provide details on our backlog in our next earnings call.
With the momentum of new business wins, we expect our E-Systems business to continue to grow faster than market for the next several years.
Despite the industry slowdowns, we remain busy executing launches with Mercedes, Volvo, Jaguar among others.
We also are launching our initial programs with GM and Audi on our recent award-winning battery disconnect unit and our first to market 5G Telematics Control Unit.
Our Connection Systems Business is on track to grow to approximately $600 million next year.
Growing this part of our business is part of our strategy to increase the size and strength of our Electrical Distribution Systems business and increase our margins.
In addition to organic investments, we are entering into joint ventures and partnerships and making acquisitions to enhance our capabilities in connection systems.
We already are seeing benefits from our M&N acquisition, and our developing new high-speed connectors with IMS. And we are looking forward to closing the whole lane joint venture by the end of the year, which will increase our presence in connector catalogs.
We're also making progress in our plan to grow our connection systems business to $900 million to $1 billion by 2025.
We will continue to identify and pursue additional acquisitions or partnerships to accelerate this growth.
On the power electronics side joint venture announced yesterday was Shinry will expand our capabilities to improve manufacturing and design efficiencies for onboard chargers.
They are, one our third consecutive Automotive News PACE Award for the battery disconnect unit we designed for GM, this product controls all power switching in and out of the battery pack.
Our design incorporates breakthrough thermal management innovations, which improves the efficiencies of large and high performance electric vehicles.
We will be supplying this part on the GMC Hummer EV, the Chevrolet EV Silverado and other vehicles on GM battery electric truck programs.
We also are pursuing opportunities on strategic EV platforms with other customers.
We also won a PACEpilot Award for our 5G V2X Telematics Control Unit.
A single state of the art installation featuring nine antennas integrated onto one printed circuit board to support all next-generation wireless technologies.
Our design removes the Shark Fin external antenna required on many vehicles today, reducing complexity in improving styling capabilities in aerodynamics, which is particularly important for EV's were every element that increases range is critical.
We have received interest from numerous customers to commercialize this technology.
We also have been recognized by our customers for quality.
A few weeks ago, we received the World Excellence Award from Ford for our plant in particular Argentina and earlier this year, we received two Plant Quality Award from General Motors.
And now, I'd like to invite Jason to review our third quarter financial results and full-year outlook.
Slide 14 shows vehicle production and key exchange rates for the third quarter.
The impact of continuing component shortages led to a significant reduction in global industry production in the third quarter particularly in our two largest markets North America and Europe.
As a result, global vehicle production in the third quarter decreased by 19% compared to 2020 and on a Lear sales weighted basis global production declined by approximately 25%.
From a currency standpoint, the U.S. dollar continued to weaken against the Euro and RMB compared to 2020.
Slide 15 highlights Lear's growth over market in the third quarter.
Overall company growth over market was a strong 9 percentage points with E-Systems growing nine points and seating growing eight points above market respectively.
Growth over market in North America of 12 points reflected the benefit of new business in both segments and strong production on GM's full-size SUVs as well as Mercedes SUVs.
In Europe, growth over market of five points was driven primarily by new businesses while strong performance in the luxury segment and seating.
Increased business in connection systems in Europe also contributed to the growth over market performance.
In China growth over market of four points resulted from strong production on BMW programs and seating and new business with GLE and Great Wall and E-Systems.
Year-to-date Lear's sales have grown faster than the market by nine points that was above market growth in both segments.
Slide 16 highlights our financial results for the third quarter of 2021 compared to 2020.
Our sales declined 13% year-over-year to $4.3 billion.
Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, commodities, and acquisitions sales were down by 16% primarily reflecting lower production and Lear platforms partially offset by the addition of new business.
Semiconductor shortages in the quarter negatively impacted our revenue by approximately 24%.
Core operating earnings were $98 million compared to adjusted operating earnings of $327 million last year.
The reduction in earnings resulted from the impact of lower production volumes and higher commodity costs partially offset by positive operating performance in addition of new business.
Adjusted earnings per share were $0.53 as compared to $3.73 a year ago.
Third quarter free cash flow was negative $157 million compared to $474 million in 2020.
Free cash flow was negatively impacted by lower earnings, higher capital expenditures, and an increase in working capital.
Working capital was higher in the quarter as volatility and customer production schedules resulted in elevated inventory levels.
Slide 17 explains the third quarter year-over-year variance in sales and adjusted operating margins in the seating segment.
Sales in the quarter were $3.2 billion, a decrease of $526 million or 14% from the third quarter of 2020.
Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, acquisitions and commodities sales were down 16% reflecting lower production partially offset by the benefit of new business.
In seating production downtime in the third quarter related to semiconductor shortages reduced our sales by approximately $1.1 billion or 25%.
Core operating earnings were $144 million, down $142 million from the third quarter of 2020.
Lower volume on their platforms and higher commodity costs partially offset by positive net operating performance in margin accretive backlog.
Slide 18 provides details for the third quarter year-over-year variance in sales and adjusted operating margins in our E-Systems segment.
Sales in the third quarter were $1.1 billion, a decrease of 9% from the third quarter of 2020.
Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, acquisitions and commodities, sales were down 15% driven primarily by lower volumes somewhat offset by a strong backlog.
In E-Systems production downtime in the third quarter related to semiconductor shortages reduced our sales by approximately $300 million or 21%.
Core operating earnings were $23 million or 2.1% of sales compared to $93 million in 2020.
The decline in earnings resulted primarily from lower volumes, higher commodity costs, and semiconductor and COVID related premium cost, the decline was partially offset by margin accretive backlog and positive net performance.
Last week our treasury team took advantage of favorable market conditions and our strong financial position to opportunistically increase and extent our revolving line of credit.
The credit agreement was increased to $2 billion and the maturity was pushed out by more than two years to October of 2026.
Our strong balance sheet supports investments in innovation and growth and positions Lear to quickly execute bolt on acquisitions such as the pending acquisition of Kongsberg Automotive's Interior Comfort Division expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.
We continue to analyze additional organic and inorganic investments to strengthen both of our business segments.
At the same time, we remain fully committed to returning excess cash to shareholders.
In the third quarter we returned $100 million through continued share repurchases and the doubling of our quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.
Slide 20 provides the assumptions for global vehicle production volumes and currencies that form the basis of our 2021 full year outlook.
We've based our production assumption on several sources, including internal estimates, customer production schedules, and IHS forecasts.
Due to the ongoing supply disruptions we expect full year 2021 global vehicle production to be roughly the same as 2020 and generally in line with the most recent IHS forecast.
From a currency perspective, our 2021 outlook assumes an average Euro exchange rate of $1.19 per Euro, and an average Chinese RMB exchange rate of RMB6.46 to the dollar.
Slide 21 compares our updated outlook to our prior outlook for sales and core operating earnings.
We are reducing our outlook to reflect the impact of significant additional reductions in customer production schedules that have resulted from continuing component shortages.
We are forecasting sales in the range of $18.8 billion to $19.2 billion and operating income in the range of $750 million to $850 million.
Our 2021 outlook for core operating earnings at the midpoint was down $215 million to $800 million, primarily reflecting lower volumes and modestly higher commodity costs partially offset by net performance improvements.
Slide 22 highlights a more detailed view of our updated financial outlook.
Despite the reduction to our revenue outlook, we are projecting the company to deliver full year growth over market of approximately eight percentage points.
This reflects both the strength of our new business backlog, as well as our strong customer program and product portfolio.
Adjusted net income is expected to be in the range of $420 million to $500 million, down $180 million at the midpoint from our prior guidance reflecting lower sales.
Our outlook for free cash flow for the year is expected to be approximately $175 million, which is lower than our prior outlook by $250 million reflecting both lower earnings and higher working capital.
Full year free cash flow could be further impacted by continuing production disruptions, which may lead to temporarily higher working capital.
While our outlook reflects our best insight into customer production plans for the remainder of the year, the production environment remains volatile.
As we've done in the past, we plan to provide an update on our financial outlook during an investor conference in early December, reflecting new developments and industry conditions.
While it's too early to provide guidance for next year, we thought this slide might be a little bit helpful to indicate what trends we are tracking.
There are many positive drivers as we head into next year and beyond, most importantly, customer demand is strong and dealer inventories are extremely low.
This positions the industry for a strong recovery once we get beyond the short-term supply constraints.
We have a strong product lineup, which is driving new business wins.
We are laser-focused on driving operational excellence and improvements that we have made in both business segments this year will support margin improvements going forward.
The challenges are very similar to those we've faced over the last few quarters; limited visibility on production schedules, commodity and labor inflation, and supply chain disruptions are expected to continue to impact the auto industry into 2022.
While no one in the industry is immune and it is difficult to predict when production volumes will normalize, I know that we have the right team and we have the right strategy in place to capitalize when the industry conditions do improve.
The strength of our balance sheet, along with the cash-generating capabilities of our business will continue to provide us with financial flexibility to support investments in our business while returning capital to our shareholders.
In closing, I want the team to know how proud I am of their performance and for focusing on the things we can control.

user
q3 adjusted earnings per share $0.53.
q3 sales fell 13 percent to $4.3 billion.
lear - at midpoint of fy guidance range, have assumed that global industry production will be roughly in-line with 2020, lower than prior guidance.
sees fy capital spending about $600 million.

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