We think it's a strong quarter. We have a strong margin (profitability) despite headwinds on the currency, says CEO Stefan Widing at a telephone conference with news agencies.
The order intake increased by seven percent, while revenues and profit fell. But the figures would have been significantly stronger if the krona had continued to be as weak as a year ago. A more expensive krona means that foreign profits fall when they are exchanged for Swedish currency.
The company is the first of the major engineering companies to release quarterly figures and is followed by, among other things, sector colleague Atlas Copco in the rise on the stock exchange. The Sandvik share is up about two percent at lunchtime.
The engineering company is large in the mining industry. And the high metal prices drive the demand for Sandvik's mining equipment, something that primarily affects the facilities in Finland where more staff have been hired. In the summer, it was staff cuts that applied in other parts of the group.
We are accelerating and braking at the same time.
The weak development for the automotive industry leaves its mark on Sandvik as well. Stefan Widing points out, however, that it was partially compensated for by a continued strong demand within the aerospace segment.
The American trade war leaves Sandvik relatively unscathed, at least so far. The current tariff level is acceptable.
We have not seen any direct volume impact from the tariffs, says Stefan Widing.
Facts: Sandvik's quarterly report in figures
TT
Adjusted profit before tax for the third quarter was 4.7 billion kronor, compared with 4.9 billion for the same period last year.
Revenues fell to 29.2 billion kronor (30.3)
Order intake increased to 30.8 billion kronor (28.8).
Source: Sandvik's quarterly report
