Superior Industries posts Q1 loss

May 8 (Reuters) - Aluminum wheel maker Superior Industries International Inc (SUP.N) posted a quarterly loss as unit shipments fell 55 percent. For the first quarter, the company posted a net loss of $56.5 million, or $2.12 per share, compared with net income of $3.2 million, or 12 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest quarter results included an $8.9 million pretax charge for assets impairment and a $25.3 million charge to tax expense related to valuation of deferred tax assets, the company said. Revenue for the company, which supplies aluminum wheels to car makers Ford Motor Co (F.N), General Motors Corp (GM.N) and Chrysler LLC, fell 63 percent to $81.5 million. "Dramatically lower" customer requirements during the quarter resulted in the slump in wheel production, the company said. Three analysts on average were expecting the company to post a loss of 34 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $93.7 million, according to Reuters Estimates. Sales were hit by the continued deterioration of the North American automobile industry and the financial difficulties faced by its primary customers, the company said in a statement. As of Chrysler's bankruptcy filing date, Superior Industries' total receivable from the automaker's entities in the United States, Canada and Mexico was $9.8 million. Shares of the company closed at $14.86 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)