SKF Gains as CEO Tells Dagens Industri North America Is ‘Strong’

SKF AB (SKFB), the world’s largest maker of ball bearings, climbed the most in more than three months after Dagens Industri reported the company continues to see rising demand in North America and improvements in Europe.

Shares of the Gothenburg, Sweden-based company rose as much as 6 percent to 167.2 kronor, the biggest intraday gain since Nov. 30, and were trading up 5 percent at 165.5 kronor as of 2:57 p.m. in Stockholm.

North American markets are still strong and Europe is “moving in the right direction,” Dagens Industri cited Chief Executive Officer Tom Johnstone as saying. Asia is also rebounding, he said, according to the newspaper.

SKF extended its reach into U.S. markets in February with an agreement to buy West Nyack, New York-based General Bearing Corp. (GNRL), which generates annual sales of about $155 million. There are no financial limits on acquisition opportunities, Johnstone said, according to Dagens Industri.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Noel in London at anoel@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net