Posted By Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 30, 2025

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's Kone on Thursday posted quarterly earnings above estimates and said it expects its adjusted operating margin to improve in 2025 and sales to grow slightly.
"We continued to grow at a healthy rate, with both orders and sales increasing over 10% outside China," Chief Executive Philippe Delorme said in a statement.
The elevator and escalator maker has been pushing to grow its modernisation and maintenance businesses to compensate for less demand at its main business that equips new buildings, and to offset a decline in China.
The elevator maker's October-December adjusted operating profit rose to 386.5 million euros ($402.42 million), beating the 379.2 million euro mean estimate of analysts polled by LSEG.
Most items affecting comparability come from restructuring of operations in China, Kone said.
($1 = 0.9604 euros)
(Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Terje Solsvik)