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Bloomberg
Schneider Electric SE raised its earnings forecast for the year on improving construction markets in the U.S. and Europe with the exception of the U.K., where the company is expecting a slowdown following the Brexit vote.
The world’s biggest maker of low- and medium-voltage equipment increased the target for adjusted Ebita margin improvement to 0.6 to 0.9 percentage points, the Rueil-Malmaison, France-based company said in a statement on Thursday. First-half net income gained 13 percent to 809 million euros ($895 million), compared with 719 million euros a year earlier.
“We delivered a strong performance in the first half in a challenging environment,†Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pascal Tricoire said in the statement. In the U.K., “many projects will probably be frozen, postponed or canceled,†Chief Financial Officer Emmanuel Babeau said by phone.
While the company continues to grapple with weakness in the oil and gas industry and resource-based markets, it sees continued growth in western Europe and the U.S. construction market, improvement in China and a slight growth in other emerging markets, it said. The electric equipment-maker, which is focusing on high-margin projects and offering more software and services, in June dropped a second attempt to acquire a controlling stake in British industrial software maker Aveva Group Plc.