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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Volvo vans are seen on the market in Linden, New Jersey, U.S., May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
By Marie Mannes
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish truck maker AB Volvo (OTC:) reported a bigger-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter adjusted working revenue on Friday and mentioned it had adjusted manufacturing ranges and raised costs to compensate for value inflation and normalising demand.
The sector and traders alike brace for a more durable 2024 for the trucking market with Volvo anticipating fewer vans to be registered this 12 months than the 12 months earlier than and analysts flagging a downturn in demand in Europe.
On Friday, Volvo minimize its predictions for the whole European heavy truck market this 12 months, seeing registrations of 280,000 vans for the area as an alternative of 290,000. However, it saved its 290,000 prediction for the North American heavy truck market.
It additionally raised its prediction for the China medium and heavy truck market to 800,000 from 700,000 vans beforehand.
“We successfully mitigated cost inflation with price management, handled disturbances in the supply chain and reduced inventories,” Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt mentioned in a press release, stating he noticed demand normalising throughout a number of markets and segments.
Other truck makers are additionally feeling the squeeze, with rival Daimler (OTC:) vans citing ongoing provide shortages in key areas as a purpose it noticed group gross sales develop by just one% for the total 12 months of 2023.
However, peer Traton mentioned earlier within the week it began 2024 with a very good order e-book.
Operating revenue adjusted for divestment prices got here to 18.4 billion Swedish crowns ($1.76 billion), above the imply forecast of 17.2 billion Swedish crowns in an LSEG ballot of analysts.
Volvo proposed an strange 2023 dividend of seven.50 crowns per share, up from 7.0 crowns in 2022. This is along with an additional dividend of 10.50 crowns per share, up from 7 crowns a 12 months earlier.
The total proposed dividend of 18 crowns was above the whole cost of 17 crowns anticipated by analysts.