FLSmidth falls on weaker China outlook

FLSmidth & Co fell the most in eight weeks in Copenhagen on the outlook for slowing demand for its products as China’s expansion cools, according to Bloomberg reports.

The shares slid as much as four per cent, the biggest decline since June 1. They dropped 3.3 per cent, making it the fourth-biggest loser in the Copenhagen 20 Index, to DKK332.3 as of 2:09pm in the Danish capital.

Growth in China may slow for a seventh straight quarter to 7.4 per cent in the three months to September, said Song Guoqing, a member of the People’s Bank of China monetary policy committee. FLSmidth received 30 per cent of its sales from Asia last year, its biggest geographical market, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Investors are fearing lower Chinese growth, as well as a slowdown elsewhere in Asia, will cool demand for metals and minerals, thus cooling demand for mining equipment,” said Jacob Pedersen, an analyst at Sydbank A/S in Aabenraa, Denmark.