Konecranes cuts full-year forecasts after orders fall
Oct 14 (Reuters) – Crane maker Konecranes lowered its full-year outlook on Monday after third-quarter orders fell 10 percent and profit came in below expectations, underscoring a weak outlook for Finnish industrial companies.
Europe’s prolonged economic slump has hurt sales of Konecranes’ industrial cranes, which are used by a wide range of manufacturers and in shipyards and ports. In July, it said it would cut up to 600 jobs after second-quarter results fell short of forecasts.
The company said on Monday it expects 2013 sales and operating profit excluding restructuring costs to be lower than in 2012. It previously expected full-year sales to be stable or higher than in 2012 and operating profit to be unchanged.
Shares in Konecranes fell 4.5 percent to 23.22 euros by 1215 GMT, having touched a two-month low of 22.83. The company also said orders in the third quarter fell to 413 million euros, weaker than expected by both the company and analysts.
“The orders number is disappointing, although it’s not a huge surprise thinking about the overall economic situation,” said analyst Juha Kinnunen at equity research group Inderes.
“It seems all the industrial companies are struggling,” Kinnunen said. “Basically, the big projects are all on ice. We haven’t heard about any large orders in the industry.”
Konecranes is not alone in experiencing the knock-on effects of global economic conditions. Finnish engineering company Metso said earlier this month that some customers were delaying orders. Its shares were down 0.9 percent at 28.46 euros by mid-afternoon.
In the same sector, shares in cargo handling equipment maker Cargotec Oyj – which had jumped in July after the company’s higher-than-expected earnings raised hopes of a turnaround – were down 1.7 percent at 27.43 euros.
Konecranes said its third-quarter operating profit excluding restructuring costs fell to around 32 million euros ($43 million), below the market’s consensus forecast of 38 million according to data compiled by Vara Research.
The company’s full quarterly results are due on Oct. 23. ($1=0.7373 euros) (Editing by Greg Mahlich and David Holmes)
