By Volvo, the Swedish truck maker, has raised its outlook for the truck market, indicating that demand is beginning to stabilize. Despite facing supply disturbances, Volvo managed to increase truck deliveries by 5% in the second quarter. However, order intake fell by 10% due to the company’s cautious approach to accepting orders and customer hesitancy.
In terms of financial performance, Volvo reported a net profit of SEK10.77 billion ($1.05 billion) compared to SEK10.44 billion the previous year. This increase can be attributed to a sales rise of 18% to SEK140.82 billion. Analysts expected a slightly higher net profit of SEK12.95 billion on sales of SEK135.0 billion.
Notably, Volvo achieved an adjusted operating margin of 15.4%, a significant improvement from the previous year’s 11.6%. This figure excludes a restructuring provision in Nova Bus and costs associated with a European Commission antitrust settlement.
Martin Lundstedt, the Chief Executive of Volvo, expressed satisfaction with the company’s performance, stating, “We have been successful in improving margins while managing cost inflation and increased disturbances in the supply chain.” He further added that Volvo is entering a more normalized demand situation and is experiencing record strong profitability and high operational performance.
Moreover, Volvo has revised its truck market forecasts for Europe and North America for the year 2023, anticipating positive growth in those regions. The company’s guidance for other regions remains unchanged.
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