Bearings maker SKF's Q1 profit falls less than expected, says Iran war increases uncertainty (updated)
21/04/2026 06:46
CEO says biggest concern is what Iran war will do to global demand SKF makes adjustments to compensate for higher fuel costs Sees Q2 like-for-like sales unchanged from last year Q1 adjusted profit falls less than expected Recasts first paragraph, adds CEO comments on Middle East, prices, material costs By Greta Rosen Fondahn STOCKHOLM, April 21 (Reuters) - Swedish industrial bearings maker SKF SKFb.ST said on Tuesday it was increasing prices after the Iran war pushed up fuel costs, and forecast flat sales in the current quarter. SKF - a bellwether of the global manufacturing sector with a customer base spanning products from industrial tools and wind turbines to cars - said it expected demand to be roughly unchanged overall in the second quarter from the first quarter. "However, geopolitical turmoil, including the conflict in the Middle East, amplifies overall uncertainty," CEO Rickard Gustafson said in a statement. The Middle East only accounts for about 1% of SKF sales, Gustafson told analysts and media. However, he said his biggest concerns were over how long the conflict would last and what it would do to global demand. COMPENSATE FOR FUEL COSTS Gustafson did not say how much it had raised prices or where. "We try to be proactive, we try to be quick to respond, and we try to find ways to offset the increased costs resulting from higher fuel prices," he said. He also anticipated higher raw material costs, including for steel, but said these had not trickled down yet. SKF's first-quarter operating profit adjusted for items affecting comparability - including costs for its planned automotive business spin-off - fell to 2.95 billion crowns ($323 million) from 3.23 billion a year earlier, against a mean forecast of 2.74 billion in a poll of analysts provided by SKF, on like-for-like sales growth of 2.4%. SKF's shares were down 1% at 0840 GMT, with analysts weighing a softer-than-expected outlook against the earnings beat. ($1 = 9.1273 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Greta Rosen Fondahn, editing by Anna Ringstrom and Susan Fenton) ((greta.rosenfondahn@thomsonreuters.com))