Wärtsilä Profitable in Challenging Q3 2013 Market

"Our operations developed in line with our expectations during the third quarter. Net sales grew by 11% to EUR 1,209 million and profitability was 11.4%. With better visibility on net sales development, we specify our sales growth guidance to 0-5%, while our profitability estimate remains unchanged at around 11%," commented Björn Rosengren, President and CEO.

Third Quarter Highlights
- Order intake decreased 14% to EUR 1,097 million (1,275)
- Net sales increased 11% to EUR 1,209 million (1,087)
- Book-to-bill 0.91 (1.17)
- Operating result before non-recurring items EUR 138 million, or 11.4% of net sales (EUR 113 million or 10.4%)
- EBITA EUR 146 million, or 12.1% of net sales (EUR 122 million or 11.2%)
- Earnings per share EUR 0.48 (0.38)
- Cash flow from operating activities EUR 139 million (121)

Rosengren continued: "Uncertainties in the global economy and fluctuations in emerging market currencies have caused power plant customers to delay decision-making, which has impacted our overall order intake development. In the marine markets, we see good activity across all the main vessel segments. The focus on fuel efficiency and competitive newbuilding prices are supporting investments in the merchant segment, while offshore markets remain active. Services net sales development was steady, which reflects the overall stability of the service market. Wärtsilä signed several long-term service agreements during the quarter, and we see further opportunities in this area."

Market Outlook
Our outlook for the shipping and shipbuilding market in 2013 has improved. The lively ordering of product tankers, large containerships and gas carriers is expected to continue during the rest of the year. Furthermore, the offshore sector is expected to remain active, although with a different contracting mix that favours mobile drilling units and FPSOs more.

Current emission regulations and the focus on fuel efficiency create interesting opportunities in gas fuelled vessels and environmental solutions. Financing is expected to remain difficult, but some signs of easing can be seen across the industry. Overall, the contracting mix is expected to be more balanced than in 2012, with activity in all major vessel segments.

The complete report is available at: http://www.wartsilareports.com/en-US/2013/q3/frontpage/