STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish defence material maker Saab on Tuesday reported a slightly bigger-than-expected rise in third-quarter operating earnings and affirmed its outlook for surging sales and profits this year as countries scramble to re-arm.
The company reported quarterly operating earnings of 1.19 billion Swedish crowns ($112.8 million) versus a year-ago 859 million and analyst expectations of 1.14 billion, according to a LSEG mean forecast based on three estimates.
The maker of military hardware such as missiles, advanced electronics, submarines and the Gripen fighter jet repeated its forecast for sales to grow organically by 15-20% in 2024 while operating earnings were seen rising even more.
However, it added that it expected organic sales growth to come in at the upper end of the range.
($1 = 10.5483 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Niklas Pollard, editing by Terje Solsvik)
