SKF has reported net sales of SEK39 415 million for the year to date, up from SEK34 689 million for the same period in 2014.
‘Demand in the quarter was largely in line with guidance, with reported sales in local currency declining with 1.5%, excluding structural change,’ said Alrik Danielson, president and CEO. ‘We saw a good growth in railways except for China and in energy except for Europe. A weaker demand was seen in heavy industry and the distributor segment in North America as well as an underlying weaker demand in China. The automotive business in North America was also slow during the quarter.’
The company’s operating margin increased to 12.9%, excluding one-time items and the balance sheet strengthened during the quarter. SKF launched a profit improvement program in the automotive market where it initiated a number of activities with the aim of improving productivity and competitiveness. It also divested three non-core businesses: Erin Engineering and Research Inc, Purafil, and Kaydon Custom Filtration.
‘During the first-half year we saw a weak development of the global industrial production,’ Danielson added. ‘Lately the uncertainty regarding the market demand in China has increased further. Entering the third quarter we all in all experience a relatively weak industrial production. Looking forward we expect demand to be sequentially slightly lower and relatively unchanged year-over-year.’
This story is reprinted from material from SKF, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.