Sweden's Hexagon lags profit forecast on weak construction demand
Writes through, adding detail, quotes and share price reaction
By Marta Frackowiak
April 26 (Reuters) -Swedish industrial technology group Hexagon HEXAb.ST missed expectations for first-quarter operating profit on Friday, hit by faltering construction sector demand in a tough economic environment.
Its shares were down 2% in early trading in Stockholm.
Market conditions were mixed during the January-March quarter, particularly in the Chinese construction sector and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), CEO Paolo Guglielmini said in a statement.
"There's a bit of hesitance in terms of our industrial customers in Europe," he added added in an interview with Reuters. "We see it also across macroeconomic indicators and performance of peers."
Guglielmini said the immediate demand environment would probably remain mixed in a continuation of trends observed at end of 2023.
The maker of measurement and positioning systems reported adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of 376.5 million euros ($403.7 million) for the first quarter, up from 371.2 million euros a year earlier.
However, that was below a 394 million euro analyst consensus estimate provided by the company.
"Adjusted EBIT was impacted by weaker growth developments in the high-margin geosystems division," J.P.Morgan said in a note, while also flagging a miss in organic sales growth.
The Geosystems division develops digital solutions used by construction sector customers among others.
Hexagon reported 3% organic revenue growth for the first quarter, compared with 8% growth a year earlier.
The company also reaffirmed 2022-2026 mid-term targets, including average annual organic growth of 5-7% and an operating margin of more than 30% by the end of the period.
($1 = 0.9326 euros)
Reporting by Marta Frackowiak in Gdansk
Editing by Milla Nissi and David Goodman
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