President and Chief Executive Officer — Mikael Bratt Mikael Bratt: Thank you, Anders. Looking on the next slide. The first quarter exceeded our expectations, driven by strong sales in March Operational performance was also ahead of plan, supported by solid productivity improvements, partly reflecting reduced call-off volatility.
Our positive trend in Asia continued with strong growth in India, South Korea and China. In China, we continued to grow faster than light vehicle production especially with the Chinese OEMs, outperforming by more than 40 percentage points. In India, we grew sales by 38% organically reflecting mainly the trend of increased safety content in vehicles in India, but also the continued high level of light vehicle production growth.
Underlying profitability improved with gross profit increasing by 10%, although adjusted operating income was slightly lower due to temporary lower RD&E reimbursements and a onetime income in Q1 last year. In the quarter, we paid a dividend of $0.87 per share, representing a total payout of USD 65 million. Buybacks were paused as the company was in a restricted period following multiple filings and the announcement of a new CFO.
Our USD 2.5 billion share repurchase authorization through 2029 remains unchanged. And with the ambition annual share repurchase between USD 300 million and USD 500 million. Hostilities in the Persian Gulf had a limited impact this quarter and we are continuously monitoring any potential wide-reaching impact on the industry.
Based on what we know today, we reiterate our full year 2026 guidance of flat organic sales with continued significant outperformance of light vehicle production in both China and India. We continue to expect an adjusted operating margin of around 10.5% to 11%. This is based on the assumption that light vehicle production will decline by around 1% and that the gross headwind from raw materials is around USD 90 million.
I am also pleased that we introduced our first air bag for motorcycles as well as our first complete wearable airbag solution promoted by motorcycle riders, building on our long-term strategy of growing outside our traditional core business. Looking now on the next slide. First quarter sales increased by approximately 7% year-over-year, driven by strong outperformance relative to light vehicle production, along with favorable currency effects and tariff-related compensations.
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