French engineering giant Alstom on Tuesday posted an 8.0-percent rise in first-quarter sales but said order intakes fell 13 percent as inflation and electronic component shortages began to bite.

Sales for the period April to June were 4.0 billion euros ($4.06 billion), while orders totalled 5.6 billion euros, the group said.

"Our sales have developed as expected, thanks to the stabilisation of our rolling stock projects and strong performance in services and systems," Alstom chairman and CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge said.

Alstom was operating in "a more complex global environment, marked notably by inflation and the electronic components shortages".

Europe accounted for 70 percent of orders. They include a contract to supply 130 electric double-decker trains to Germany's SFBW network.

In Asia-Pacific, Alstom signed an urban tram contract with Melbourne, Australia, which it said was the biggest "in the Southern hemisphere".

Looking ahead to the full fiscal year April 2022 to March 2023, Alstom said the increasingly complex economic and political context created uncertainties for the company.

"In particular, inflation is expected to weigh to some extent on FY 2022/23 profitability and the electronic components shortages may create tension on the deliveries.

"The group has therefore put in place strong risk mitigation and cost-out actions to navigate these uncertainties," it said.

liu/gil/bp

ALSTOM