Sandvik Q2 pretax, order intake lag forecast

Tag : Tools And Machinery
Engineering group Sandvik posted a bigger-than-expected fall in quarterly pretax earnings onFriday, hit by lower nickel prices and unfavourable currency rates,but said market demand remained strong.
The Sweden-based maker of specialty tools and machinery reported apretax profit of 3.30 billion crowns ($597 million), compared with3.80 billion a year ago and a mean forecast of 3.46 billion in aReuters poll of analysts.
Earnings at the group were stung by a fall in nickel prices, whichlowered the value of Sandvik's inventories of the metal by 176million crowns. In addition, unfavourable currency rates comparedwith last year shaved off a further 340 million crowns.
Sweden's top-flight engineering firms, which have enjoyed strongmarket demand over the past few years, have been largely upbeat inthe face of a global slowdown sparked by a financial crisis in theUnited States.
Many engineering analysts had expected the gloom pervading theoverall economy to spread deep into the outlooks offered up bycompanies in the sector, but this week several of Sandvik's Swedishpeers reassured with robust forecasts of demand.
Sandvik, which did not provide forecasts of demand or earnings inits report, said order bookings at the group edged up to 24.7billion crowns from a year-earlier 24.5 billion, to come in belowthe 25.3 billion seen by analysts.