STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Assa Abloy (ST:ASSAb), the world's biggest lock maker, posted on Monday a bigger-than expected increase in fourth-quarter organic growth.
Operating profit rose to 3.04 billion crowns (247 million pounds) from a year-ago 2.68 billion, against a mean forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts of 3.06 billion.
It said organic growth increased to 5 percent, from 3 percent a year earlier as well as in the third quarter helped by efficiency improvements, beating a mean forecast of 3.7 percent.
"The strong sales trend in the USA, Europe and the Pacific region continued unchanged. The sales trend in the developing countries remained good except in China, where sales continued to fall," Chief Executive Johan Molin said in a statement.
"However, a weaker demand picture can be perceived in many developing markets, linked to a shortage of financing for major projects. This principally affected Global Technologies," he said.
($1 = 8.4680 Swedish crowns)