Schneider Electric 2016 profit climbs 24%

France’s Schneider Electric SE (SU.FR), one of the world’s biggest suppliers of power equipment and services, announced Thursday that its 2016 profit surged 24% as cost cutting and a decline in amortization offset falling revenue.

Net profit rose to 1.75 billion euros ($1.86 billion) in 2016 from EUR1.41 billion in 2016, despite revenue falling 7.3% to EUR24.69 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a net profit of EUR1.90 billion out of sales worth EUR24.69 billion.

The company’s revenues fell after it sold some units and as foreign currencies depreciated against the euro.

Schneider Electric repeated its full-year targets of between 1% and 3% organic revenue growth, excluding its infrastructure division, where it expects a decline of between 4% and 5%. North America is expected to post “modest growth,” and Western Europe is expected to grow “moderately” with a lower euro and relatively low oil prices, the company said.

Schneider Electric also said it expects a strong increase in raw-material costs of around EUR200 million in 2017.

Source: MarketWatch