Alstom Profits Up Sharply, Sees Steady Growth

French energy and transport giant Alstom (IW 1000: 150) on Friday said it is counting on 5% sales growth in the next few years after reporting a sharp increase in its annual results.

The company, known for its high-speed trains and power plants, said its year-to-March 2012 net profit soared 58% to 732 million euros ($966 million) as sales rose 5% to 19.9 billion euros.

Alstom said that its sales performance improved over the course of the year and it expects gains of 5% this year and in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.

The order book stood at 49.3 billion euros, up 5%, at the end of the year, with new orders rising 14% to 21.7 billion euros.

The operating profit margin was 7.1% and the company said it expects this to improve to 8% by 2014-2015.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012