Bearings maker SKF AB has posted second quarter pretax profit ahead of market expectations and said that it saw demand rising in coming months, sending its shares more than 6% higher.

SKF, seen as a bellwether for manufacturing due to its wide range of industrial customers, reported record quarterly pretax earnings of SEK 1.98 billion as against SEK 1.96 billion a year earlier, beating the SEK 1.92 billion seen in a Reuters poll of 13 analysts and helped counter fears that SKF would suffer from the global economic downturn.

SKF and its Swedish engineering peers have prospered amid strong demand across their main markets in recent years, helping them routinely deliver record profits and rosy demand forecasts.