Swedish industrial technology group Hexagon beat market expectations with record quarterly earnings
on Wednesday, as it delivered higher sales despite global component shortages.
The news sent shares in the maker of measurement and positioning systems and software up by 3%
in early trade.
Hexagon reported a 24% year-on-year jump in fourth-quarter operating profit before items affecting
comparability to 373 million euros ($421 million), helped by currency translation effects, bigger sales
volumes and a more profitable product mix.
Analysts polled by Refinitiv had on average forecast a profit of 344 million euros.
Sales were up 7% on a like-for-like basis.
“The strained component supply reduced sales and organic growth by 6% resulting in a further
increase in order backlog and additional cost pressures,” CEO Ola Rollen said in a statement.
“But as evident in the strong operating results, we successfully mitigated this constraint across the
business.”
JP Morgan analysts said in a note to clients the fact Hexagon saw recovering demand from most areas
of the construction, automotive and manufacturing sectors should broadly bode well for peers such as
Aveva, Dassault, Siemens Digital and Autodesk.
Hexagon proposed raising its annual dividend by 22% but noted the overall outlook was unpredictable.
The group`s sensors and software are used for measurement and quality inspection in manufacturing
processes and engineering plant design, as well as in infrastructure planning, construction, mining,
agriculture and energy.
