Piaggio & C : nine-month core earnings flat, in line with forecasts

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian motorcycle and scooter maker Piaggio on Friday reported flat core earnings for the first nine months of the year, as expected by analysts, helped by sales growth across its main geographic areas and positive currency effects.

The maker of the iconic Vespa scooter and Aprilia motorbikes said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the nine-months to the end of September inched up to 135.7 million euros ($149 million) compared with 135.4 million the previous year. Consolidated revenues rose 7.7 percent to 1 billion euros.

Both figures were in line with analysts expectations according to a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S forecast.

Shares in the company were little changed after the results, and were trading down 0.35 percent at 2.26 euros.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; editing by Francesca Landini)