Truck maker Volvo posted a smaller-than-expected fall in first-quarter pre-tax profit today.
Hit by a fall in demand in the United States, Volvo's pre-tax earnings edged down to 5.41 billion crowns ($796 million) from 5.47 billion a year ago. But they were well above the average forecast of 4.66 billion analysts had been expecting, helped by cost cuts.
Revenues at the firm dipped to 61.04 billion crowns from 62.74 billion a year ago but beat the poll's average forecast of 57.21 billion.
Shares in Volvo, which have underperformed the market in the run up to its results, opened 2.3 per cent higher at 124.5 crowns. The wider bourse was down slightly.
Volvo said order bookings in North America, its second biggest market after Europe, tumbled 80 per cent year-on-year. Total order bookings were down 26 per cent in the quarter.
The firm began cutting capacity in its US truck business last year to reduce costs. Analysts have estimated the firm had cut capacity by roughly a third going into the first quarter.
While US truck sales have evaporated, Europe has done well. The market this year is expected to outpace last year's historically strong sales of more than 290,000 heavy trucks. But Volvo's order bookings in the quarter in Europe for its trucks fell 4 per cent.
The firm said it was raising it outlook for the European heavy-duty truck market to around 330,000 units this year, and that demand in North America would remain low over the near term.