UPDATE 1-Assa Abloy set for more savings as smart locks boost Q1

STOCKHOLM, April 26 (Reuters) - Assa Abloy, theworld's biggest lock group, plans to cut costs further fromlater this year after posting first-quarter profits that roughlymatched expectations.

The group, which has more than doubled sales over a decadeand outgrown rivals thanks to acquisitions in a fragmentedmarket, flagged in February it would present new savings thisyear as it integrates recent purchases.

The Swedish group said on Thursday the programme would runover three years and costs would be in line with previousprogrammes, with a payback time of around three years.

Assa Abloy expects a pick-up in sales growth this year ascustomers increasingly switch from mechanical locks to hi-techalternatives ranging from fingerprint scanners tosmartphone-activated systems.

New CEO Nico Delvaux, who joined Assa Abloy from Finnishmining equipment group Metso, said on Thursday heplanned to further develop Assa's strategy with focus on productleadership, cost efficiency and a strong acquisition agenda.

"I am confident that we will create new businessopportunities through our new products and solutions, and thatwe have seen only the initial phase of the market transition andtechnology shift from mechanical solutions to digital, connectedproducts and services," he said.

Quarterly operating profit was 2.83 billion crowns ($331million) against a year-ago 2.79 billion and a Reuters pollforecast of 2.86 billion.

Organic sales growth slowed to 4 percent from 6 percent ayear earlier, topping a forecast 3 percent. The group said highdemand for electromechanical locks and for access controlsystems boosted sales.

Jan Molin, who stepped down in March after 12 years as CEO,in February predicted core group sales growth in the first halfof 2018 above the 4 percent achieved a year earlier.

Before his time at Metso, new CEO Delvaux headed thecompressor technique business at Sweden's Atlas Copco, where both Molin and Assa Abloy's Chairman LarsRenstrom held executive positions earlier in their careers.($1 = 8.5475 Swedish crowns)(Reporting by Anna RingstromEditing by Niklas Pollard/Keith Weir)