Volvo’s 2Q Earnings Increase On Higher Truck Sales

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olvo AB said Monday its second-quarter profit rose 40% to about $502 million or $1.24 a share, from about $360 million or 85 cents a year earlier.

The Goteborg, Sweden, company reports its earnings in Swedish kronor. Volvo is the parent of U.S.-based Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks.

Volvo’s truck sales rose sharply in all markets except Europe, the Associated Press reported. North American sales rose 35%, which led the company to boost its market growth prediction in there to 20%, from an earlier 15% to 20% estimate, AP said.

Bloomberg reported that Volvo’s North American truck deliveries rose by 42%, compared with its worldwide delivery-order growth of 17%, but that North American orders fell by 18%.

North American sales will remain strong, but are likely to slow by the end of 2006 or early 2007, CEO Leif Johannson told Bloomberg in late June. (Click here for previous coverage.)