Hexagon Swings to Q3 Profit as Net Sales Rise

what happened

Swedish technology group Hexagon AB posted net income of EUR 446 million for the three months to September 30, compared with a loss of EUR 33.9 million a year earlier, according to TradingView, which cites dpa-AFX and RTTNews. Income from continuing operations came to EUR 447.2 million, or 16.5 cents a share, while adjusted earnings rose to 8.2 cents per share from 6.9 cents.

Operating profit reached EUR 541.7 million after an operating loss of EUR 23.1 million the year before. Net sales climbed to EUR 1.049 billion from EUR 975.4 million, and the Autonomous Solutions unit lifted its sales to EUR 224.7 million from EUR 178 million. Spending on research, administration and sales also fell. A positive fair value change of EUR 264.5 million on equity holdings, which had no counterpart last year, accounted for a large part of the turnaround.

why it matters

Much of the improvement stems from revaluing equity stakes, so investors following industrial software should weigh the operating result and adjusted per-share earnings as the more durable indicators of the business.

market impact

Hexagon and industrial software peers: higher sales and operating profit support the shares of the company.

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