Kone gained nearly 5% on the stock market on Wednesday after the Finnish group refined its sales and margin forecasts for 2024, an announcement welcomed by analysts.

The elevator and escalator manufacturer said it expects sales growth at constant exchange rates for the current year to be between 0% and 5%, against a market consensus of +2%.

The Group had previously forecast stable or slightly rising sales.

It also expects an adjusted operating margin (Ebit) of 11.5% to 12.3%, compared with 11.4% in 2023, against a consensus target of 12.1%.

In the first three months of the year, adjusted operating profit rose by 8% year-on-year to 262.4 million euros, in line with consensus.

Sales rose by 0.5% to 2.57 billion euros, in line with consensus.

Kone says this performance was underpinned by business in India, Southwest Asia and North America, but that the sluggish Chinese property market weighed on orders.

At around 10:45 a.m., Kone shares were up 4.7%, outperforming the STOXX Europe 600 industry index, which was stable.

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