Atlas Copco sees weaker customer activity in near term after Q3 profit miss
Q3 orders slighlty below estimates
Expects somewhat weaker customer activity ahead
Market conditions difficult to predict - CEO
Adds background in paragraphs 5, 7-8, adds analyst comments in 9
STOCKHOLM, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Swedish industrial groupAtlas Copco ATCOa.ST warned of weakened customeractivity in the near term as it posted lower-than-expectedorders and adjusted operating profit for the third quarter on Wednesday.
"The current market conditions come with a level of hesitancy and unpredictability," said CEO Vagner Rego, who took over the top position in May after Mats Rahnstorm resigned.
Operating profit before items affecting comparability fell to 9.44 billion crowns ($891.5 million) from a year-earlier 10.1 billion, below a mean forecast of 9.83 billion in an LSEG poll of analysts.
Order intake slipped to42.1 billion crowns from 42.6 billion a year earlier, the maker of air treatment systems, construction gear and power tools said, whileanalysts had expected a rise to 43.5 billion.
The market had earlier in the year been optimistic of a long-awaited semiconductor recovery which could help Atlas' vacuum business that has in the past few years dented the group's results.
Atlas Copco said its vacuum technology business saw increased orders in the third quarter of the yearamid stronger demand from the semiconductor and flat panel industries.
But in October Europe's biggest computer chip equipment maker, ASML, lowered its sales forecast for 2025, as it cited sustained weakness in parts of the semiconductor industry, leading to market uncertainty.
The vacuum business, which competes with the likes of Pfeiffer Vacuum PV.DE, is an important indicator for Atlas as it typically offers a forward-looking gauge of demand for the broader group.
The guidance is "not necessarily a surprise", J.P. Morgan said in a note to clients, as the broker had expected Atlas Copco to guide for either unchanged or somewhat weaker customer activity.
The company's shares were flat at 1130 GMT.
($1 = 10.5892 Swedish crowns)
Reporting by Boleslaw Lasocki and Marie Mannes; editing by Anna Ringstrom, Milla Nissi and Chizu Nomiyama
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
