Atlas Copco Q4 operating profits up 16%

Swedish engineering giant Atlas Copco reported its operating profits from October to December 2021 rose 16% to 6.25 billion krona ($691 million), up from $5.4 billion krona ($595 million) a year earlier.

For the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, the company reported operating profits of 23.6 billion krona, up from 19.1 billion krona a year earlier.

The company reported orders received rose 29% in 2021 compared to the previous year. Its near-term demand outlook is expected to remain high and the overall order intake for its products and services compared to the previous year. New orders from North America rose 36% year-on-year. European orders rose 28% while Asia orders rose 32%.

The company’s compressor technique division saw 29 orders come in from Asia and Oceania in Q4, an increase of 34% from the prior order. Europe reported 37 new orders, up 33% from the prior year while orders in North America were 23, up 22% from the prior year.

Its full-year operating profits from its compressor division was 11.9 billion krona, up 11% from the prior year, and accounted for 23.9% of the company’s total operating profits.

Orders received for compressors reached 55 billion krona in 2021, up 16% from the prior year. “The order intake for industrial compressors increased significantly compared to the previous year, with similar pace for large and smaller-sized compressors,” the company reported. “Order volumes for gas and process compressors increased considerably compared to the previous year, but were basically unchanged sequentially.”

Orders received in the fourth quarter grew to 33.5 billion krona, an organic growth of 26%.

Atlas Copco introduced a new range of oil-injected screw compressors, the GA-22-37 VSD, which is more energy efficient than previous VSD+ models, Atlas Copco reported.

“I’m proud to be able to present a very strong fourth quarter and a record result for the full year 2021,” said Atlas Copco President and CEO Mats Rahmström. “Our whole organization have gone above and beyond to continuously adapt to changes and find new ways of working during the year.”

Although operating profits for Q4 rose 16% from the prior year, a poll of analysts from Refinitiv showed that the results fell short of the expected 6.62 billion krona, Reuters reported.