By Dominic Chopping

STOCKHOLM--Assa Abloy AB on Friday raised its dividend by 14% after posting a forecast-beating rise in fourth-quarter net profit as strong demand across most markets offset weakness in Asia.

The Swedish lock maker said net profit for the period rose to 3.73 billion Swedish kronor ($359.2 million) from SEK3.04 billion a year earlier as sales rose 28% to SEK32.92 billion.

A FactSet consensus had forecast quarterly profit of SEK3.61 billion on sales of SEK32.4 billion.

The earnings before interest and tax margin was unchanged on the year at 15.7%.

The company said it will launch a new manufacturing footprint program at the end of the first quarter of 2023, with closures of factories and offices expected to take place over a period of around two years.

The expected cost for the new program is around SEK1.2 billion, with savings of about SEK700 million expected over a two-year period.

The company said its proposed acquisition of the HHI division of Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. is proceeding and it is confident that its previous plan to sell certain businesses will eliminate competitive concerns alleged by the U.S. Justice Department.

Assa Abloy increased its dividend to SEK4.80 from SEK4.20 last year.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 03, 2023 02:53 ET (07:53 GMT)