Swedish high-technology engineering and steelmaking group Sandvik has issued its financial results for the third quarter and the first nine months of the current year.
According to the financial results, Sandvik's net profit for the third quarter was SEK 1.63 billion ($256.14 million), decreasing by 22 percent compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Order intake in the given quarter amounted to SEK 20.22 billion ($3.2 billion), declining by two percent year on year.
Sandvik's net profit for the first nine months of 2013 fell by 33 percent to SEK 4.96 billion ($778.8 million) year on year, while the order intake amounted to SEK 63.3 billion ($9.94 billion), down 13 percent.
According to Sandvik, business activity in Europe was in line with the preceding year, with strong performances noted in the UK and Russia. North America remained relatively stable. Overall demand in Asia improved, most notably in Japan, while the continued low activity in the mining industry continued to impact Australia and Africa.
Sandvik also stated that demand from the global mining industry showed signs of stabilization at low levels during the third quarter. Actions to further reduce costs and adjust capacity to the weak demand are being implemented.