STOCKHOLM, July 29 (Reuters) – Electrolux reported a bigger than expected profit for the second quarter on Wednesday, but said conditions weakened in North America, a key market for the home appliances maker as it tries to turn around its business and restructure operations.
Operating profit excluding non-recurring items at the Swedish group, whose brands include Frigidaire and AEG, rose to 1.2 billion crowns ($124 million) in the April-June period from a year-earlier 797 million, on 2% organic sales growth.
Analysts had on average forecast an operating profit of 617 million Swedish crowns, in a poll provided by Electrolux.
The appliance maker has been battling for years with weak demand and cut-price competition, with particularly its North America business – which represents around a third of sales – struggling to turn an operating profit.
It carried out a steeply discounted 9 billion Swedish crown rights issue in June to fund a tie-up with Chinese rival Midea in North America, restructure its global business and deleverage its balance sheet.
($1 = 9.6759 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Greta Rosen Fondahn, editing by Terje Solsvik)
