Orders of drilling rigs for tunnelling projects remained very low in the three months to 30 September, reported Sweden’s Atlas Copco in its Q3 results.
The construction segment also reported weak demand in the third quarter for most activities, falling sharply for rigs used on surface works. Few countries saw clear effects on investments from government stimulus funds in Q3, said the firm.
However, there was some improved activity in the mining sector compared to prior months, it added.
Overall, the Construction and Mining division reported operating profits were down 43% to SKr823M (US$116M) compared to the same period last year. Sales revenues were 23% lower to nearly SKr6bn (US$844M), and orders received fell 28% to SKr5.65bn (US$795M).
For the nine months January-September, the division’s operating profits dropped 41% to almost SKr2.6bn (US$365M), and revenues were down 17% to SKr19.5bn (US$2.74bn). Orders received fell by almost a third to less than SKr17bn (US$2.4bn).
Future overall demand for the entire group is expected to stay the same although the firm expectes some improvements in China and India.
Group operating profit in Q3 was down by a third to SKr2.4bn (US$338M) on revenues 18% lower at almost SKr15.1bn (US$2.1bn). Orders received fell by almost a quarter to SKr14.3bn (US$2bn).
