Sweden's Electrolux second quarter profits surpass forecasts

Swedish appliance giant Electrolux announced higher than expected profits and healthy growth for the second quarter of 2015, despite its recent US acquisition setback.

"During the second quarter 2015, Electrolux achieved an organic growth of seven percent, to which all six business areas contributed positively," said company chairman Keith McLoughlin in a statement announcing quarterly profits of 608 million krona ($71 million, 65 million euros) compared to a 92 million krona loss the previous period.

"The financial performance in the Group’s largest business area, Major Appliances EMEA, continued to strengthen year-over-year," he added.

Electrolux's second quarter operating profit, meantime, rose to 921 million krona, far surpassing the 800 million krona average forecast by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The positive financial announcement contrasts the negative news Electrolux received earlier in July, when US anti-trust authorities filed suit to block the company's planned $3.3 billion purchase of General Electric's appliance division.

The legal opposition by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) represents a formidable threat to Electrolux's plans to muscle-up with a huge North American acquisition.

The company said it will fight the move in US courts, and on Friday McLoughlin -- himself an American citizen -- renewed that pledge.

"Electrolux does not agree with the DOJ’s assessment that the acquisition will harm competition and will vigorously contest this effort by the DOJ to oppose the transaction. The review of the proposed acquisition will now continue in a court procedure," McLoughlin said.

Traders on the Stockholm stock market responded to the effervescent second quarter result by sending Electrolux share prices up 2.76 percent in mid-morning deals.