Core earnings for German livestock and food equipment maker GEA rose 12% in the third quarter, in line with its expectations, Reuters reports.

The company, which is undergoing a major restructuring, is trimming its management and administration staff to cut costs.

However, increased demand for dairy products, especially in Asia, helped drive all of GEA's divisions to record sales levels in the third quarter.

In the third quarter, GEA received major orders for dairy projects in Poland, China and New Zealand, including one for a dairy powder plant with a capacity of 30 tonnes per hour, matching the world's largest, also built by GEA.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 12% to 149 million euros (US$189 million), in line with the average estimate in a Reuters survey of analysts. Net profit fell 10% to EUR75 million. Sales rose 5% to EUR1.15 billion, in line with preliminary results GEA had reported.

The company makes products for milk production and livestock farming as well as dairy processing equipment, along with other machinery used to process food, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, and refrigeration systems.