STOCKHOLM - Defence and aerospace firm Saab (SAABb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research) posted first-quarter pretax earnings below expectations on Wednesday, hit by higher marketing costs, but stood by its full-year outlook for sales and margins.
The group reported a pretax profit of 324 million Swedish crowns ($54.79 million) compared with 380 million a year earlier and a mean forecast of 417 million in a Reuters survey of five analysts.
The Sweden-based firm repeated its full-year 2008 forecast of organic sales growth of 5 percent and an operating margin of 10 percent, excluding extraordinary items.
The group, which has sought to boost its overseas revenues in recent years in the face of shrinking defence spending in its home market, said marketing costs were to blame for the earnings shortfall.
"The lower operating income is mainly due to higher marketing expenses largely related to tenders for Gripen to a number of countries," it said in a statement.
Saab's Gripen fighter jet is competing for orders across the world, ranging from Nordic neighbour Norway to several countries in Asia. It recently concluded a deal to sell the fighter to Thailand.
The company said group order bookings rose to 7.75 billion crowns in the quarter from 5.39 billion a year ago to put the order backlog at 49.6 billion crowns.
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