MAN Diesel eyes 3 bln euro sales by 2010 -report

FRANKFURT, July 21 (Reuters) - The head of MAN Diesel (MANG.DE) said a 40 percent rise in sales to 3 billion euros ($4.75 billion) by 2010 would be realistic, a German magazine reported on Monday.

Georg Pachta-Reyhofen told Germany's Euro magazine that MAN Diesel was not feeling the pinch from a slowdown in economic growth worldwide.

The company would also benefit from stronger emission regulations for the shipping industry, which would lead to "new business opportunities from re-fittings of older engines", Pachta-Reyhofen was quoted as saying in an interview to be published on Wednesday.

MAN Diesel's order backlog stood at 4.3 billion euros at the beginning of July, Pachta-Reyhofen said, and the trend was upwards.

MAN Diesel makes massive low and medium-speed engines for seagoing vessels as well as power plant applications. Pachta-Reyhofen told Euro that sales at its power plant division could more than double by 2010 from 260 million euros last year.

"We should reach 500 to 600 million by 2010," Pachta-Reyhofen said.

MAN Diesel is aiming for an operating margin of around 15 percent, up from 14.3 percent last year, the magazine said.

The company also planned to expand its service network through small acquisitions.

"Large acquisitions could be difficult due to our leading market position in many areas," he said.