Rewrites after interview with executive chairman

MILAN, May 7 (Reuters) - Italian brake maker Brembo BRBI.MI on Thursday raised its full-year revenue growth forecast after navigating disruptions linked to the Iran war, sending its shares higher as it posted a small increase in first-quarter core profit.

The company now expects a 3% increase in annual revenue at constant exchange rates, versus a flat outlook issued in March after the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran.

Brembo's Milan-listed shares were up 11% at 1530 GMT.

Executive Chairman Matteo Tiraboschi said the initial guidance was "perhaps a bit too prudent".

"We spotted what the consequences for us were and acted immediately, both on the energy and on the material supply chain side," he told Reuters in an interview. "We managed to quickly find alternative suppliers, in particular for some materials coming from that area, such as aluminium".

SENSIFY IMPACT FROM 2027

Brembo earlier this week said its intelligent braking platform Sensify was entering large-scale production to supply a leading global manufacturer and that it had recently signed more contracts with new customers.

Tiraboschi said on Thursday there would be a visible positive impact on results next year as volumes become significant.

In the first quarter, core profit (EBITDA) rose 0.9% to 154.7 million euros ($182.1 million), while revenue fell 2.1% to 937.4 million euros.

M&A OPPORTUNITIES

Tiraboschi said Brembo was continually assessing M&A opportunities but had not finalised any deals.

Last month, Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera said Brembo was considering buying Monroe, the suspension unit of U.S. auto part maker Tenneco, in a deal that could be worth more than 1 billion euros.

"Suspensions is a world we look at, brakes and suspensions work together and close to each other but I do not know Monroe enough. There are many companies in this industry," Tiraboschi said.

Brembo in 2024 bought suspension technology manufacturer Ohlins Racing from Apollo Global Management-backed Tenneco for $405 million.

($1 = 0.8495 euros)