Stockholm, Sweden-based Atlas Copco last week reported its 22nd consecutive quarter of robust organic growth, supported by strong demand in all geographical regions and with operating profit at a record level.
“Sales of equipment and service were both strong and we saw tremendous growth in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China,” said president and CEO Gunnar Brock. “In the near term, we believe that demand for our products and services will remain at the current high level, overall.”
Atlas Copco’s revenues increased 31 percent from the previous year to SEK 16.4 billion (U.S. $2.5 billion), corresponding to an organic growth of 19 percent from SEK 12.5 billion (U.S. $1.9 billion). The operating profit rose 36 percent to SEK 3.1 billion (U.S. $479.5 million), from SEK 2.3 billion (U.S. $355.7 million).
“All business areas contributed to the record result,” Brock said. “We’re proud to see that we, despite cost increases in raw material and components, adverse currency effects and capacity constraints in certain areas, have managed to grow both sales and profits substantially.”
During the third quarter, the acquisition of Mafi-Trench expanded the offering for the growing oil and gas industry, with turboexpanders and related products. “Mafi-Trench has already showed its value for the Group, by winning its largest-ever order in September.”
The Group continues to invest for higher production capacity, including two refurbished factories in India for compressors and construction and mining equipment.
“We are positioning ourselves to tap all areas of future growth, geographically and in different market segments, including the aftermarket,” said Brock. “Strengthening our production in Asia is vital, considering the region is now as large as North America in terms of order volumes.”
Atlas Copco is a global provider of industrial productivity solutions. The products and services range from compressed air and gas equipment, generators, construction and mining equipment, industrial tools and assembly systems, to related aftermarket and rental.
