Volvo Reports Q4 Profit Decline, Raises Dividend
STOCKHOLM, Feb 8 (Reuters) - AB Volvo, a Swedish truck manufacturer, announced a larger-than-expected decline in its fourth-quarter operating profit on Wednesday. Despite the drop, the company increased its dividend payout.
Operating profit reached 14.04 billion Swedish crowns ($1.28 billion), compared to 16.98 billion the previous year. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast an average of 14.51 billion. The decline coincided with a 6% drop in sales.
Volvo proposed an ordinary dividend for 2024 of 8.00 crowns per share, an increase from 7.50 crowns in 2023. The extra dividend remained unchanged at 10.50 crowns.
“In Q4, the European truck market continued to decline compared to the high levels of 2023, with freight volumes and rates falling from previous peaks,” said CEO Martin Lundstedt in a statement.
Lundstedt noted that the North American market for vocational trucks remained strong, while the long-haul segment had stabilized.
Volvo reiterated its market forecast made in October, predicting the sale of 290,000 heavy trucks in Europe and 300,000 in North America by 2025.