By Dominic Chopping 



  STOCKHOLM--Swedish industrial tool maker Atlas Copco AB on Thursday said second-quarter orders fell 16% on year, just missing estimates, but near-term demand is expected to improve somewhat. 


  The company said it received orders worth 22.4 billion Swedish kronor ($2.47 billion) in the quarter ended June 30, just shy of a FactSet analyst forecast of SEK22.62 billion. 


  Net profit fell to SEK3.13 billion from SEK4.09 billion as revenue fell 5.8% to SEK24.1 billion. 


  Analysts polled by FactSet had expected net profit of SEK2.81 billion on revenue of SEK21.92 billion. 


  Atlas Copco said, although the world's economic development remains uncertain, it expects near-term demand for the group's equipment and services will improve somewhat compared to the level in the second quarter. 


  "Despite the considerable effects on the global economy, caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we have kept profitability and cash flow at healthy levels which allows us to continue investing for the future," Chief Executive Mats Rahmstrom said. 


  "The demand for all types of equipment, except for equipment to the semiconductor industry, suffered from the effects of Covid-19. To a lesser extent, the pandemic also affected the service business negatively. The exception was also here the semiconductor industry, which recorded a strong order increase." 


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