STOCKHOLM, April 22 (Reuters) – Swedish maker of metal-cutting tools and mining equipment Sandvik reported a larger-than-expected rise in first-quarter core profit on Wednesday, and said order intake for its cutting tools was higher in the first half of April compared to the first quarter.
• “The geopolitical and macro-environment continues to be highly uncertain,” CEO Stefan Widing said in a statement
• Sandvik is regarded in the industry as a bellwether due to its broad customer base and relatively short lead times from order booking to delivery of its cutting tools
• January-March operating profit before amortisation and items affecting comparability, mainly previously announced restructuring costs, rose 6% to 6.14 billion crowns ($671 million) against a mean forecast of 5.97 billion in an LSEG poll of analysts
• Organic sales growth in Q1 was 15%
• “The daily order intake trend entails a higher degree of uncertainty than usual due to market dynamics related to the tungsten supply and demand,” Sandvik said
• The price of tungsten, a critical industrial metal prized for its hardness, has soared, fuelled by tightening inventory, Chinese export controls and industrial demand
• Sandvik, which has its own tungsten mine, has seen demand for its tungsten powder jump
• Shares were broadly flat at 0957 GMT, up 30% year-to-date
($1 = 9.1512 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Greta Rosen Fondahn, editing by Anna Ringstrom)
