Wärtsilä Interim report January-September 2017

Wärtsilä Corporation, Stock exchange release 25 October 2017 at 08:30 UTC+2

STRONG DEVELOPMENT IN ORDER INTAKE

This release is a summary of Wärtsilä’s Interim Report January-September 2017. The complete report is attached to this release as a pdf-file (Interim report Q3 2017). It is also available at http://www.wartsilareports.com/en-US/2017/q3/frontpage/ and on the company website at www.wartsila.com.

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
- Order intake increased 19% to EUR 1,354 million (1,139)
- Net sales increased 9% to EUR 1,178 million (1,079)
- Book-to-bill reached 1.15 (1.06)
- Comparable operating result increased to EUR 135 million (123), which represents 11.4% of net sales (11.4)
- Earnings per share amounted to 0.43 euro (0.43)
- Cash flow from operating activities decreased to EUR 150 million (189)

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REVIEW PERIOD JANUARY-SEPTEMBER 2017
- Order intake increased 15% to EUR 4,130 million (3,604)
- Net sales increased 7% to EUR 3,477 million (3,242)
- Book-to-bill reached 1.19 (1.11)
- Comparable operating result increased to EUR 346 million (330), which represents 10.0% of net sales (10.2)
- Earnings per share increased to 1.10 euro (0.92)
- Cash flow from operating activities decreased to EUR 154 million (378)
- Order book at the end of the period amounted to EUR 5,075 million (5,024)

WÄRTSILÄ'S PROSPECTS FOR 2017
The overall development for 2017 is expected to be relatively unchanged from the previous year. Demand by business area is anticipated to be as follows:

  • Solid in Services with growth opportunities in selected regions and segments.
  • Good in Energy Solutions, thanks to increasing electricity demand in the emerging markets and the global shift towards renewable energy sources, which will support the need for distributed, flexible, gas-fired power generation.
  • Solid in Marine Solutions. Despite good order intake growth, the marine market environment remains challenging, as the merchant, gas carrier, and offshore segments continue to suffer from overcapacity and slow trade growth.

Wärtsilä’s current order book for 2017 deliveries is EUR 1,206 million (1,346). Wärtsilä will continue to focus on improving efficiency, which is expected to partially offset lower volumes in the marine markets. The pricing environment in Energy Solutions’ markets has stabilised, but the order book is still impacted by the competitive pressure seen in previous years. The good performance in Services is expected to continue.

JAAKKO ESKOLA, PRESIDENT AND CEO
“Wärtsilä’s performance in the third quarter was satisfactory. Although power plant deliveries continued to drive overall sales development, challenges in the offshore segment and low volumes from service projects resulted in lower than expected sales growth in the Services business. Profitability was supported by certain deliveries being brought forward from the fourth quarter to the third. These timetable changes also result in a more even distribution of deliveries between the quarters than in the previous year.
I am pleased with the continued growth in order intake. In addition to good demand for our power generation solutions, we received an order to build our third LNG terminal in Finland, which will be located in Hamina. The project will provide cleaner fuel for both marine transport applications and local industry, thereby demonstrating Wärtsilä’s contribution to the development of sustainable societies. A favourable contracting mix in the marine markets supported order intake growth in Marine Solutions, the highlight being a contract to supply the main engines and exhaust gas cleaning systems to Norwegian Cruise Line’s four new generation cruise ships to be built by Fincantieri. The high level of activity in the cruise segment over the past few years has lengthened delivery times for both yards and equipment suppliers. Finally, the continued demand for long-term service agreements resulted in order intake growth also for Services.

After the third quarter, we announced two acquisitions in our Marine Solutions business. Puregas Solutions will expand our overall reach in the gas value chain by strengthening our position in the biogas liquefaction market. The acquisition of Guidance Marine, on the other hand, represents a further step in our digital transformation. Being a technology leader in sensor solutions relating to dynamic positioning and other vessel control systems, such as collision avoidance and remote control operations, Guidance Marine enhances our frontrunner position in intelligent shipping technologies.”

KEY FIGURES

MEUR

7-9/2017

7-9/2016

Change

1-9/2017

1-9/2016

Change

2016

Order intake

1 354

1 139

19%

4 130

3 604

15%

4 927

Order book at the end of the period

   

5 075

5 024

1%

4 696

Net sales

1 178

1 079

9%

3 477

3 242

7%

4 801

Operating result1

130

122

7%

327

301

9%

532

% of net sales

11.1

11.3

 

9.4

9.3

 

11.1

Comparable operating result

135

123

9%

346

330

5%

583

% of net sales

11.4

11.4

 

10.0

10.2

 

12.1

Comparable adjusted EBITA

144

132

9%

373

356

5%

618

% of net sales

12.2

12.3

 

10.7

11.0

 

12.9

Profit before taxes

114

115

-1%

291

253

15%

479

Earnings/share, EUR

0.43

0.43

 

1.10

0.92

 

1.79

Cash flow from operating activities

150

189

 

154

378

 

613

Net interest-bearing debt at the end of the period

   

432

384

 

150

Gross capital expenditure

   

176

126

 

146

Gearing

   

0.20

0.18

 

0.07

1Items affecting comparability in the third quarter of 2017 included costs related to restructuring programmes of EUR 4 million (2). During the review period January-September 2017 restructuring costs amounted to EUR 19 million (29).


ANALYST AND PRESS CONFERENCE

An analyst and press conference will be held today, Wednesday 25 October 2017, at 10.00 a.m. Finnish time (8.00 a.m. UK time), at the Wärtsilä headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. The combined web- and teleconference will be held in English and can be viewed at the following address: http://wcc.webeventservices.com/r.htm?e=1518386&s=1&k=CB2E36BA72432A8C2ED7E9DA707DA609. To participate in the teleconference please register at the following address: http://emea.directeventreg.com/registration/93498475. You will receive dial-in details by e-mail once you have registered. If problems occur, please press *0 for operator assistance. Please use *6 to mute your phone during the teleconference and the same code to unmute.

An on-demand version of the webcast will be available on the company website later the same day.

For further information, please contact:

Marco Wirén
Executive Vice President & CFO
Tel: +358 10 709 5640
marco.wiren@wartsila.com

Natalia Valtasaari
Director, Investor & Media Relations
Tel: +358 10 709 5637
natalia.valtasaari@wartsila.com

For press information, please contact:
Atte Palomäki
Executive Vice President, Communications & Branding
Tel: +358 10 709 5599
atte.palomaki@wartsila.com

Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in advanced technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2016, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.8 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
www.wartsila.com