Liftmaker Otis beats first-quarter profit estimates on high demand for maintenance

(Reuters) - Elevator and escalator maker Otis Worldwide Corp beat quarterly profit estimates on Wednesday on higher demand for maintenance and repair services on its elevators.

The Farmington Connecticut-based company operates globally through two segments - new equipment which manufactures and installs passenger and freight elevators, escalators and moving walkways, and service segment which offers maintenance, repair and upgradation services.

Its maintenance and repair portfolio grew more than 4% year-on-year.

"In addition, modernization strength continues, including another quarter of orders growth above 10%," said CEO Judy Marks.

On an adjusted basis, Otis reported a first-quarter profit of 88 cents per share, beating analysts' average expectation of 87 cents per share, according to LSEG data.

Net sales for the quarter increased 2.7% to $3.44 billion versus the previous year, and were largely in line with analysts' estimates of $3.45 billion.

The company raised the lower end of its adjusted earnings forecast and now expects full-year earnings per share to be in the range of $3.83 to $3.90, compared to the prior forecast range of $3.80 to $3.90.

Shares of the company were flat in pre-market trading.

(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta and Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)