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STOCKHOLM, July 23 (Reuters) - Swedish truck and bus maker Scania posted profits exceeding expectations on Wednesday but said it remained cautious about market developments for the rest of the year, sending its shares lower.
"Overall, we remain cautious regarding the outlook during the rest of the year," Scania Chief Executive Leif Ostling said in a statement.
Scania, which reported after rival Volvo also unveiled forecast-beating profits, said second quarter pre-tax profits were 1.3 billion crowns ($159.8 million), boosted by higher sales.
The profit performance by the world's most-profitable truck maker surpassed both the 1.1 billion crowns projected by a Reuters poll of analysts and its year-ago profit of 816 million crowns.
While Volvo pointed to reviving markets in the North America and a stabilising market overall, however, Scania sounded a note of caution.
"Growth of the economies in Scania's main markets in western Europe continued to deteriorate and our order bookings declined," Ostling said.
Western Europe accounts for roughly two thirds of its group sales.
At 0848 GMT Scania shares were down 3.6 percent at 213.00 crowns in a slightly stronger Swedish market , while Volvo was up just under one percent.
The truck industry, which tends to reflect wider economic conditions, has suffered over two years from flagging demand on both sides of the Atlantic, hitting earnings at most players including DaimlerChrysler , the world's biggest truck maker.