RAUTE CORPORATION INTERIM REPORT
This is a summary of Raute's Interim Report
RAUTE CORPORATION - INTERIM REPORT
- The Group's net sales,
- Operating profit amounted to
- Earnings per share were
- Net sales in the third quarter were
- Raute's net sales are expected to grow in 2021 and operating profit to improve from 2020.
| Q3 2021 | Q3 2020 | Q1-Q3 2021 | Q1-Q3 2020 | Q1-Q4 2020 |
Net sales, MEUR | 37,9 | 27,9 | 98,1 | 76,1 | 115,0 |
Change in net sales, % | 35,8 | -17,3 | 28,9 | -32,1 | -24,0 |
Exported portion of net sales, % | 90,0 | 92,7 | 90,0 | 93,7 | 94,2 |
Operating profit, MEUR | 1,9 | 1,3 | -1,6 | -2,7 | -1,9 |
Operating profit, % of net sales | 5,1 | 4,8 | -1,6 | -3,6 | -1,6 |
Profit before taxes, MEUR | 1,9 | 1,3 | -1,2 | -2,3 | -1,5 |
Profit before taxes, % of net sales | 5,1 | 4,5 | -1,2 | -3,0 | -1,3 |
Profit for the period, MEUR | 1,4 | 0,8 | -1,3 | -2,3 | -0,9 |
Profit for the period, % of net sales | 3,7 | 2,8 | -1,4 | -3,0 | -0,8 |
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Gross capital expenditure, MEUR | 3,7 | 3,1 | 6,3 | 5,2 | 5,2 |
% of net sales | 9,8 | 11,1 | 6,4 | 6,9 | 4,5 |
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Research and development costs, MEUR | 1,1 | 1,0 | 3,6 | 3,2 | 4,6 |
% of net sales | 3,0 | 3,7 | 3,7 | 4,2 | 4,0 |
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Order book, MEUR | 150 | 62 | 150 | 62 | 94 |
Order intake, MEUR | 58 | 11 | 154 | 49 | 119 |
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Personnel, at the end of the period |
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| 783 | 749 | 751 |
Personnel, effective, on average |
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| 778 | 747 | 743 |
Personnel, on average |
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| 786 | 764 | 760 |
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Raute's market situation was good, especially in the traditional, industrialized and developed markets of
We received new orders totaling more than
Our net sales this period were
However, the removal of travel restrictions bit by bit as vaccinations progress is creating optimism that business activities will gradually begin to normalize in the coming months. Despite the progress of vaccinations and the lessening of restrictions it has enabled, the uncertainty and inconvenience caused by the pandemic continue to a lesser degree.
The order intake for technology services was at a particularly good level thanks to modernization projects. This is yet another reason to conclude that the capacity utilization rate of our customers' production is at a good level. Our customers' desire to systematically develop the safety, quality and efficiency of their operations is also at a good level.
Many raw material, component and freight costs have risen, even to a great extent, delivery times have increased and there have even been challenges in availability due to the exceptional market changes caused by the pandemic and the stimulus measures aimed at recovering from it. The rise in prices is expected to affect the future profitability of projects for transactions that have already been concluded. This only has a minor impact on the Q3 result. Our operational organization is actively addressing these challenges together with our partners. In terms of new orders, I believe we will be able to transfer most of the cost increases to prices.
Because of the pandemic, the focus of our market will, now and going forward, be more on developed markets than we estimated before the pandemic. In the longer term, we believe that the focus of growth will again shift to the emerging markets. We will continue to invest in our stated strategic priorities, the emerging markets and the development of our technology services business and digitalization. Besides the opportunities offered by the current market situation, our strong financial position and market position and our long-standing customer relationships are important competitive advantages and enablers of this type of long-term work.
Our outlook for 2021 remains unchanged, and we expect our net sales to grow and our operating profit to improve from last year.
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Market situation in customer industries
Raute's customers in the veneer, plywood and LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) industries are engaged in the manufacture of wood products used in investment projects and are thus affected by fluctuations in construction, housing-related consumption, international trade, and transportation. We expect that the trend-like growth in wood construction will create demand for our customers and indirectly for Raute, strengthening our long-term growth opportunities.
In the third quarter, the situation and outlook in the global economy and the financial markets remained good, although inflationary concerns over the rising raw material and transport costs increased uncertainty at the end of the period. Vaccinations and the easing of the Covid-19 pandemic in many market areas created positive expectations, despite the continuing uncertainty, and demand remained strong. The strong rise in the prices of our customers' products leveled out and began to decline. Prices nevertheless remained at a historically good level. We expect the market situation for our customer industries to remain good.
Demand for wood products technology and technology services
As a result of the exceptional volatility in the market situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, many of our customers, particularly in traditional, developed markets, initially put the brakes on their investments, whereas this year they have accelerated them and cleared their investment backlog. This development was further strengthened by the strong demand for wood products. In contrast, emerging markets have not made similar progress in recovering from the pandemic. Demand for Raute's products and services has thus remained low in these markets. Demand overall has been at a good level so far this year. Mill-scale projects are also moving forward in several market areas.
Investment activity among Raute's customers has strengthened compared to last year. We consider our order intake during the reporting period to be very good. Even without the reported new capacity projects, which are more one-off in nature, the number of new orders was good.
Demand was particularly high in
Demand for maintenance and spare parts services remained good, which is an indication of the generally good capacity utilization rates of Raute's customers' production plants. In our estimation, without the travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, sales of maintenance services would have been even stronger than they were.
Outlook for 2021
Due to the strong order book, active demand and further alleviated impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, we expect Raute's net sales to increase in 2021 compared to the level of the previous year. We expect the operating profit to improve on the previous year.
RAUTE CORPORATION
Board of Directors
BRIEFING ON
A briefing will be organized for analysts, investors and the media on
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Mr.
Ms.
DISTRIBUTION:
RAUTE IN BRIEF:
Raute is a technology and service company that operates worldwide. Raute's customers are companies operating in the wood products industry that manufacture veneer, plywood, LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) and sawn timber. Its technology offering covers the entire production process for veneer, plywood and LVL and special measurement equipment for sawn timber. As a supplier of mill-scale projects, Raute is a global market leader both in the plywood and LVL industries. Additionally, Raute's full-service concept includes technology services ranging from spare parts deliveries to regular maintenance and equipment modernizations. Raute's head office is located in Lahti,
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