Swedish bus and truckmaker Volvo AB said today first-quarter net profit fell 5.7 percent, beating analysts' forecasts, due to lower sales particularly in its bus and Volvo Aero units. According the Associated Press, for the three months ended March 31, the Goteborg-based company said it earned 3.75 billion kronor (¤407 million; US$550.55 million) down from 3.98 billion kronor in the same quarter in 2006. Analysts polled by SME Direkt had forecast a profit of 3.23 billion kronor (¤350.7 million; US$474.39 million). Sales for the quarter fell to 61.04 billion kronor (¤6.63 billion; US$8.97 billion), down from 62.74 billion kronor in the year-ago period. Volvo Chief Executive Leif Johansson said in a statement that the company's trucks unit is «perhaps the area where shifting demands have been most clearly evident.» «In most parts of the world, demand is highly favorable, which is reflected in continued growth of already strong volumes and good profitability. In contrast, the North American truck market has dropped significantly as expected,» he said. -- SPA
