SKF?s first quarter result has seen continued growth, an improved operating margin and continued debt reduction. The increase in demand strengthened gradually during the quarter. Net sales, at 19.6 billion, increased by 11 per cent compared to the first quarter last year, with the strongest development in North America and Asia. Sequentially, sales increased by 4 per cent, with a broad-based improvement across all regions and most of its customer industries.

During the quarter, the company has managed to ramp up production in a cost efficient way, which together with well managed fixed costs contributed to an adjusted operating profit of 2,357 million (385 million higher than last year) and an adjusted operating margin of 12 per cent, the company said.

Its industrial business delivered an adjusted operating margin of 14.2 per cent, while the automotive business continued to improve its profitability, delivering an adjusted operating margin of 7.2 per cent.

The first large scale go-live of SKF?s new ERP system in January went well. During the quarter extensive support resources have supported the users to learn the new way of working and ramp-up to normal productivity. The Unite program implementation continues in line with earlier communicated plan and budget.

In the beginning of April, SKF showcased its new, automated spherical roller bearing channel. Its ramp-up has gone according to plan, with more than 200,000 bearings already delivered to customers. The company also presented a number of new product launches focusing on the continued digitalisation of the industry, as well as application-specific bearing solutions.

For the second quarter of 2017, the company expects demand for its products and services to be higher compared to the same period last year and slightly higher compared to the first quarter of 2017.