Volvo’s Earnings Improve on Eastern European Sales

Volvo AB’s earnings rose 12% to about $707 million, as sales in Eastern Europe Russia offset North American declines, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Sweden-based Volvo said Europe’s truck market will grow by 10% this year, compared with a previous range of 5% to 10%.

Volvo Chief Executive Officer Leif Johansson said that while sales in Eastern Europe are rising at 25% to 30% annually, the North American market is “not coming up as we expected it,” Bloomberg reported.

Volvo AB is the parent company of U.S.-based Mack and Volvo Trucks North America.

Volvo Trucks North America last week said it would lay off more than 1,000 workers at a truck production plant in Virginia, more than the 650 it had forecast in December.