French turbines to trains group Alstom posted a 19 percent rise in sales to 6.05 billion euros in its first quarter to June, boosted by the full consolidation of its power business and gains in transport. Alstom shares, among the top performers on the French benchmark index this year, pushed higher on the news, trading up 4.10 percent at 33.50 euros at 0745 GMT, and outperforming the DJ Stoxx European industrials index, which was up 0.07 percent. Company officials said on Friday that new orders surged 36 percent to 6.22 billion euros during the three-month period which ended June 30, boosting its order backlog to a record 39.5 billion euros.
