* Raises adj EBIT margin target to about 11 pct from 10.5 pct
* Q1 adj EBIT up 8.4 pct to 1.1 bln eur
* Q1 sales up 3 pct to 9.85 bln eur (Adds detail, CEO comment, background)
BERLIN, April 29 (Reuters) - Continental is targeting higher profit this year, expecting a pick-up in the automotive sector to help it to build on the stronger demand for tyres and industrial parts that pushed up first-quarter sales and earnings.
Automotive business, accounting for about 60 percent of Continental's sales, could gain "notable momentum" over the course of the year after currency effects and sluggish production by some carmakers kept first-quarter growth in check, Chief Executive Elmar Degenhart said on Friday.
Quarterly orders for electronic and other automotive components jumped by more than a third to break above 9 billion euros ($10.3 billion), it said.
Continental is now targeting an adjusted operating margin of about 11 percent, compared with previous guidance of more than 10.5 percent, it said ahead of Friday's annual shareholder meeting in Hanover, Germany.
Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 8.4 percent year on year in the three months to March 31 to 1.1 billion euros while sales were up 3 percent at 9.85 billion euros.
Devaluation of emerging market currencies against the euro, including the Mexican peso, South African rand and Brazilian real, shaved more than 2 percentage points off quarterly sales, the company said.
"In light of the difficult market environment, we had a good start to the new fiscal year," CEO Degenhart said.
Continental, due to publish full quarterly results on May 4, expects organic revenue growth of 5 percent this year, driven by sales of electronics, sensors, software systems, industrial products and tyres. ($1 = 0.8775 euros) (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan and David Goodman)