Kone: earnings 'strong' despite 'unpredictable' environment

(CercleFinance.com) - Finnish lift and escalator maker Kone continued to post a "strong performance" in the third quarter, despite a "challenging" and "unpredictable" environment due to the pandemic.


Operating income (EBIT) rose to 333.1 million euros in the past quarter, from 314.2 million euros a year ago, on sales that edged up 1.1% to 2.6 billion euros, the company said.

At comparable exchange rates, sales rose by 4.9%, Kone said.

Results were "overall strong" although "mixed" across regions and businesses, the group pointed out.

However, China developed "extremely well", both in terms of sales and orders, it said, while other parts of the world continued to suffer from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its statement, Kone said it expects "solid results" in 2020, despite the high level of uncertainty.

It added that 2020 sales growth is estimated at -1% to +2% year-on-year at comparable exchange rates.

Despite the group's optimism, its shares were slightly down (-0.5%) on Friday morning.

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