STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Home appliance maker Electrolux reported quarterly earnings ahead of market expectations and forecast less headwinds on costs in 2019 as prices hikes help it offset some of the raw material inflation due to tariffs on Chinese goods.
Operating earnings at the owner of Electrolux, Frigidaire, AEG and Anova brands fell to 1.96 billion Swedish crowns (£165.3 million) from 2.07 billion a year ago, beating the 1.85 billion forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.
The group estimated the negative impact from raw materials, tariffs and currency would be 2 billion to 2.4 billion in 2019, a reduced hit versus its October estimate that cost increases would be similar to the 3 billion it had expected for 2018.
(Reporting by Esha Vaish in Stockholm; editing by Niklas Pollard)
