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Paris - Shares in Alstom jumped more than 3% on Wednesday after the French industrial giant confirmed its annual performance targets, announcing an 11% increase in transport sales in the last quarter.
The group, which is hiving off its energy assets, saw its share price surge 3.59% to €28.385 around 09:00 GMT in generally flat trading.
In the October-to-December quarter Alstom generated turnover of €1.5bn, up from €1.35bn in the same period of 2013.
Orders, excluding power deals, fell by 36% during the company's third quarter but were better than expected.
Over nine months, orders ballooned by 52% thanks to a €4.0bn contract to supply commuter trains to South Africa.
Investors were also reassured by the group's confirmation of its financial targets for the full fiscal year ending March 31.
In a deal that still needs approval by regulatory authorities, Alstom is selling its energy assets to US group General Electric, or about 70% of its capitalisation, for €12.4bn.
"The GE project is moving forward as expected, and the fundamentals of (Alstom's) transport activities remain solid for the short and medium term," a broker said.
