Atlas Copco Shares Up After Posting 30% Rise in 3Q Net Profit

Shares in Sweden's Atlas Copco AB (ATCO-A.SK) traded at the top of Stockholm's OMXS30 index Wednesday after the industrial tooling and mining equipment maker posted a 30% rise in net profit and said high demand for its products should continue.

The value of orders received at the group grew 17% to 30.55 billion Swedish kronor ($3.76 billion) in the quarter, boosted by vacuum equipment orders as well as mining gear, as companies expanded existing mines and replaced investments.

Overall demand for the group is expected to remain at the current high level in the near-term, it said in a statement.

Geographically, Atlas Copco saw double-digit order growth on the year throughout all of its regions.

Atlas Copco is preparing for a group split that will see its mining, infrastructure and natural resources business trade as a new company that will be distributed to Atlas Copco's shareholders and listed in 2018.

"The ongoing split of the Group is progressing according to plan," said group Chief Executive Mats Rahmstrom.

"Provided shareholders approve the proposal at the Annual General Meeting next year, there will be two innovative companies with strong teams that can focus even more on creating value for customers."

Net profit rose to SEK4.41 billion in the quarter ended Sep. 30, from SEK3.39 billion last year, beating a FactSet analyst forecast of SEK4.3 billion. Revenue rose to 28.5 billion from SEK25.84 billion, shy of the SEK29.24 billion forecast.

At 1030 GMT shares traded 2.2% higher at 344.90.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com; Twitter: @domchopping @WSJNordics

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 18, 2017 06:58 ET (10:58 GMT)