Alfa Laval reports steep 14% drop in quarterly orders

Swedish engineering group Alfa Laval AB on Tuesday reported a 14% drop in second-quarter order intake, a sign of slowing demand for its products.

Orders received in the quarter fell to 16.3 billion Swedish kronor from 18.9 billion kronor a year earlier, the company said.

On an organic basis, which strips out currency effects and acquisitions, orders declined by 8%.

Quarterly net sales decreased by 4% to 16.8 billion Swedish kronor, though they rose 2% organically.

Despite the sales dip, adjusted operating profit, or EBITA, increased by 2% to 3.0 billion Swedish kronor, with the corresponding margin widening to 17.8% from 16.7%.

Looking ahead, the company struck a positive tone for the coming months.

“We expect demand in the third quarter to be somewhat higher compared to the second quarter,” Alfa Laval said in its report.

Net income for the period rose to 2.03 billion Swedish kronor from 1.70 billion kronor a year ago.