Volvo hit by Europe in the fourth quarter
The Swedish truck manufacturer Volvo was reported Friday in a lower than expected earnings for the fourth quarter of 2011 and again expect a lackluster fiscal 2012, penalized by a dip in the European market.
From October to December, operating income of world number two sector stood at seven billion Swedish kronor (791 million) while analysts had forecast of 7.2 billion, according to Reuters.
The last quarter of 2010, Volvo had generated operating profit of five billion crowns.
After enjoying the full recovery of demand in 2010 and during most of 2011, European manufacturers of heavy trucks must now deal with the crisis of sovereign debt in the euro area and fears of a slowdown in global economic activity.
"We maintain our assessment that the market 'Europe of 29' will be about 220,000 trucks in 2012. We anticipate a slow start to the year and a gradual improvement, "the group said in a statement
." We maintain our forecast of continued growth of the North American market at about 250,000 trucks in 2012, "he adds
…… The … backlog fell 7% in the fourth quarter, but the fall is more dramatic in Europe where it has shrunk 24%, overshadowing the 22% increase observed in America The Swedish North
. thinks that the truck market is now stabilizing, albeit at a low level, and should pick up gradually over the years.
Volvo shows and more optimistic than its competitor Scania, who warned this week that it would reduce its workforce and the volume of some of its investments in anticipation of weak demand in the first half of 2012.
The title Volvo opened up 1.4% to 92.00 crowns.