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STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish truck maker AB Volvo reported on Friday a bigger drop than expected in its third-quarter adjusted operating profit and said it sees roughly unchanged demand next year as customers continue to be cautious.
Adjusted operating profit was 14.1 billion crowns ($1.34 billion) against a year-earlier 19.3 billion and a mean forecast in an LSEG poll of analysts of 15.6 billion, as sales dropped 12%.
Volvo said the volume drop hurt its profits in combination with an increased spend on research & development and a negative price mix.
Truck makers this year have experienced an expected slowdown in demand as markets normalised following a post-pandemic spike.
Volvo predicted next year's European and North American heavy truck markets would total 290,000 and 300,000 vehicles, respectively.
It said it now sees this year's European heavy truck market at 300,000 new vehicles, up from 290,000 seen in July. It also retained its forecast for this year's North American heavy truck market at 290,000 vehicles.
Its third-quarter order intake for its heavy-duty trucks declined 7% versus a year ago
"Which reflects cautiousness among some customers amid uncertainty surrounding the macroeconomic development going into 2025," CEO Martin Lundstedt said in a statement.
"There is some uncertainty about the macroeconomic development in the near term and this is reflected in our forecasts with relatively flat markets overall for next year," the CEO added.
($1 = 10.5328 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Marie Mannes, editing by Anna Ringstrom and Janane Venkatraman)
