Metso's Interim Review January 1 - March 31, 2019
Metso Corporation, Stock Exchange Release, April 25, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. EEST


This is a summary of Metso's January 1 - March 31, 2019 Interim Review. The complete report is attached to this release and is also available at www.metso.com/latestreports.

Figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period in 2018, unless otherwise stated.

January-March 2019 in brief

  • The year started with strong market activity
  • Orders received increased 18% to EUR 1,013 million (859 million)
  • Sales grew 17%, totaling EUR 836 million (714 million)
  • EBITA was EUR 104 million, or 12.4% of sales (85 million, or 11.9%)
  • Operating profit was EUR 100 million, or 11.9% of sales (80 million, or 11.3%)
  • Earnings per share improved to EUR 0.43 (0.33)
  • Free cash flow was EUR 38 million (2 million)
  • The divestment of the grinding media business was completed

Key figures

EUR million Q1/2019 Q1/2018 Change % 2018
Orders received 1,013 859 18 3,499
Orders received by services business 518 491 5 1,913
% of orders received 51 57   55
Order backlog 1,855 1,554 19 1,686
Sales 836 714 17 3,173
Sales by services business 462 422 9 1,773
% of sales 55 59   56
EBITA 104 85 22 369
% of sales 12.4 11.9   11.6
Operating profit 100 80 25 351
% of sales 11.9 11.3   11.1
Earnings per share, EUR 0.43 0.33 30 1.53
Free cash flow 38 2   146
Return on capital employed (ROCE) before taxes, %, annualized 18.9 15.2   16.9
Equity to assets ratio, % 46.6 40.9   47.7
Net gearing, % 15.1 2.2   11.7
Personnel at end of period 13,447 12,356 9 13,150

Market outlook

Market activity in both segments, Minerals and Flow Control, is expected to remain at the current high level in both the equipment and services business.

Metso's market outlook describes the expected sequential development of market activity during the following six-month period using three categories: improve, remain at the current level, or decline.

Previous outlook (February 6, 2019): Market activity in Minerals is expected to continue to grow in both equipment and services business. Market activity in Flow Control is expected to continue to grow in both equipment and services business.

President and CEO Pekka Vauramo:

This was my first full quarter with Metso, and I am encouraged by many things I have seen so far when visiting many customers and meeting with more than half of our people. Our employees are highly motivated and committed, with deep knowledge about our customers' needs as well as our products and technologies. We have the local presence for providing service to our customers and the skills for adding value.

Our first quarter of 2019 was strong, with high growth and improved profitability. Our order intake was up 18% year-on-year and the growth was broad-based in both equipment and in services. Together with the healthy order growth of last year this has resulted in a solid order backlog, which we continue to deliver with better efficiency. The sales growth totaled 17% during the quarter and came from the both segments. Our profitability improved both as a result of volume growth as well as improving operational efficiency. This is despite the higher equipment sales having an impact on the sales mix and margins.

We see the market demand in our businesses to remain at the current high level. The mining equipment market looks somewhat stronger compared to the other markets we serve, thanks to the mining customers' plans to improve productivity and add capacity. There are of course uncertainties in the world economy overall, which have so far had limited impact on our customer activity.

Going forward, we will concentrate on further developing our performance culture. I am confident that we have a significant potential to develop Metso further to deliver 'One Metso experience' to our customers and sustainable returns to our shareholders.

Audiocast and conference call details

Metso's President and CEO Pekka Vauramo and CFO Eeva Sipilä will present the financial results in an audiocast and a conference call for analysts and investors today at 12:30 p.m. EEST. The audiocast can be followed at www.metso.com/latestreports. A recording and a transcript will be available at the same webpage after the event has finished.

 Conference call participants are requested to dial in five minutes before the event on:
United States: +1 631 913 1422
other countries: +44 (0)333 300 0804

The confirmation code for joining the conference call is 67007667#.

For further information:
Juha Rouhiainen, VP, Investor Relations, Metso Corporation, tel. +358 20 484 3253                 
                                  
Metso Corporation

Eeva Sipilä
CFO

Juha Rouhiainen
VP, Investor Relations

Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Media
www.metso.com

Metso is a world-leading industrial company offering equipment and services for the sustainable processing and flow of natural resources in the mining, aggregates, recycling and process industries. With our unique knowledge and innovative solutions, we help our customers improve their operational efficiency, reduce risks and increase profitability. Metso is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki in Finland and had sales of about EUR 3.2 billion in 2018. Metso employs over 13,000 people in more than 50 countries.

www.metso.com,  www.twitter.com/metsogroup    


Metso_Q1_2019_Interim_Review


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Source: Metso Corporation via Globenewswire