Swedish investment firm Investment AB Latour on Tuesday reported strong third-quarter growth in its industrial operations, but said its investment portfolio continued to underperform the market.
Order intake for the company's industrial businesses rose 17% to 6.71 billion Swedish kronor, while net sales increased 8% to 6.75 billion kronor, the company said.
Adjusted operating profit for the unit was flat at 936 million kronor, with the operating margin narrowing to 13.9% from 15.0% a year earlier.
"The industrial operations developed positively during the quarter, despite persistently challenging market conditions," President and CEO Johan Hjertonsson said in a statement, attributing the lower margin to growth investments and adverse exchange rate effects.
For the first nine months of the year, the value of Latour's portfolio of listed holdings fell 2.0%, compared with a 5.8% increase in its benchmark index.
The group's net debt rose to 18.43 billion kronor by the end of September, up from 14.79 billion kronor a year prior, while net asset value per share decreased to 210 kronor from 215 kronor at the start of the year.
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