Konecranes reports healthy Q1

Finnish industrial and port crane manufacturer Konecranes saw its share price jump 7% at the end of April following a forecast that sales and profit would grow this year due to strong business from the Americas.

The company announced first quarter operating profit up 29% to €24 million (US$ 31.7 million), well ahead of a previous forecast of €22.7 million (US$ 30 million). Order intake was up 4.6% to €534.6 million (US$707 million), with €1,075.6 million (US$ 1,423 million) on the order book at the end of March, 12.4% higher than a year ago.

Q1 2012 also saw Konecranes record sales of €474 million (US$ 627 million), up 22.2% on 2011.

The company also announced that chief executive Pekka Lundmark will move to Singapore for a year, to help grow the company's business in the Asia-Pacific region, where its performance had been weaker than the previous year.