HELSINKI, Finland, July 31, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- We will arrange a news conference on Metso's January-June 2014 Interim Review for the media, investors and analysts, in Helsinki today. The event takes place at Metso Group Head Office, Fabianinkatu 9 A, Helsinki, Finland. A News conference in English will be arranged at 15:00 EEST / Helsinki time (08:00 EDT / New York, 13:00 BST / London, 14:00 CEST / Paris). In addition to the Interim Review, the company will present its new strategy at the event. The news conference can also be followed through a live webcast at www.metso.com/irwebcasts and through a conference call. Questions are accepted via conference call. Details of the event can be found at the end of this release.
This is a summary of Metso's January-June 2014 Interim Review. Complete report is attached to this release as a pdf-file and is also available at www.metso.com/investors .
Figures in brackets refer to the comparison period, i.e. the same period last year and all figures relate to Metso's continuing operations, unless otherwise stated.
Highlights of the second quarter of 2014
- Good performance continued in unchanged market conditions
- Services business developed positively
- Orders received: EUR 947 million (EUR 968 million), of which EUR 534 million (EUR 522 million) were services orders
- Net sales: EUR 962 million (EUR 988 million), of which EUR 507 million came from the services -business (EUR 507 million)
- EBITA before non-recurring items: EUR 131 million or 13.6 percent of net sales (EUR 118 million, 11.9%). Non-recurring items totaled EUR 25 million (EUR 21 million)
Financial guidance for 2014
Our guidance for 2014 (published originally on February 6, 2014) remains unchanged. We estimate that our net sales in 2014 will be somewhat below 2013 and that our EBITA margin before non-recurring items for 2014 will be around 12 percent of net sales.
This guidance is based on our current market outlook, order backlog for 2014, and cost efficiency actions, as well as foreign exchange rates remaining similar to those in June 2014.
President and CEO Matti Kähkönen:
"Market conditions have remained similar to those in the first quarter and we can be very satisfied with our second-quarter results, as we succeeded in improving our profitability substantially. Our both segments performed well and Automation also booked its highest-ever order intake. In addition, we have seen positive development in our services businesses. Demand for mining equipment was stable and we do not anticipate a rapid recovery here, although orders increased as expected compared to the first quarter. Our order intake in this area consisted of small and mid-sized orders, reflecting current market activity and current uncertainties.
Overall, the second quarter shows that our delivery mix and the strong contribution that comes from our services business enables us to improve profitability even when volumes are lower. The new strategy we published today is designed to increase our focus on our high-margin businesses and, together with our in-house initiatives, will help make Metso an even stronger performer going forward and able to deliver greater value to our shareholders."
Key figures
| EUR million | Q2/ 2014 | Q2/ 2013 | Chan- ge % | Q1- Q2/ 2014 | Q1- Q2/ 2013 | Chan- ge % | 2013 |
| Orders received | 947 | 968 | -2 | 1,822 | 1,999 | -9 | 3,709 |
| Orders received by the services business | 534 | 522 | 2 | 1,079 | 1,111 | -3 | 2,038 |
| % of orders received | 56 | 54 | 59 | 56 | 55 | ||
| Order backlog at the end of the period | 1,938 | 2,306 | -16 | 1,927 | |||
| Net sales | 962 | 988 | -3 | 1,779 | 1,903 | -7 | 3,858 |
| Net sales of the services business | 507 | 507 | 0 | 945 | 973 | -3 | 1,976 |
| % of net sales | 53 | 51 | 53 | 51 | 51 | ||
| Earnings before interests, tax and amortization (EBITA) and non-recurring items | 131.2 | 117.7 | 11 | 218.7 | 220.5 | -1 | 496 |
| % of net sales | 13.6 | 11.9 | 12.3 | 11.6 | 12.8 | ||
| Operating profit | 101.9 | 92.4 | 10 | 178.2 | 190.5 | -6 | 423 |
| % of net sales | 10.6 | 9.4 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 11.0 | ||
| Earnings per share, EUR | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.63 | 0.72 | 1.59 | ||
| Free cash flow | 47 | 35 | 34 | 95 | 82 | 16 | 251 |
| Return on capital employed (ROCE) before taxes, annualized % | 16.6 | 16.7 | 16.6 | 16.7 | 18.6 | ||
| Equity-to-asset ratio at end of the period,% | 37.3 | 36.2 | 37.3 | 36.2 | 36.9 | ||
| Net gearing at end of the period, % | 53.4 | 46.7 | 53.4 | 46.7 | 41.6 |
For illustrative purposes, the balance sheet key figures for the comparison period have been restated to represent continuing operations.
Short-term outlook
Market development
We expect demand for mining equipment and projects to remain weak but stable. Due to our large installed equipment base and our stronger services presence, we expect demand for our mining services to remain good.
Demand for construction equipment and related services is expected to be satisfactory.
Demand for products and services for our flow control business is expected to remain good, whereas for our process automation systems business is expected to remain satisfactory.
Metso is a leading process performance provider, with customers in the mining, construction, and oil & gas industries. Our focus is on the continuous development of intelligent solutions that improve sustainability and profitability. Metso's shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd. Metso employs around 16,000 professionals in 50 countries. Expect results.
www.metso.com , www.twitter.com/metsogroup
For further information, please contact:
Matti Kähkönen, President and CEO, Metso Corporation, tel. +358 20 484 3001
Harri Nikunen, CFO, Metso Corporation, tel. +358 20 484 3010
Juha Rouhiainen, VP, Investor Relations, Metso Corporation, tel. +358 20 484 3253
Metso Corporation
Harri Nikunen
CFO
Juha Rouhiainen
VP, Investor Relations
Metso will arrange a news conference for media, investors and analysts in Helsinki on Thursday, July 31, 2014 at:
08:00 EDT / New York
13:00 BST / London
14:00 CEST / Paris
15:00 EEST / Helsinki
The event will take place at Metso Group Head Office, Fabianinkatu 9 A, Helsinki, Finland. In addition to the Interim Review, the company will present its new strategy at the event.
This conference can also be followed through a live webcast and a conference call. Questions are also accepted during the event via conference call. Due to live webcast, we kindly ask those attending to be present 5 minutes prior to the start of the event.
Webcast details
Conference can be followed through a live webcast at www.metso.com/IRwebcasts from 15:00 local time onwards.
Recording of the event is available at same location www.metso.com/IRwebcasts at the earliest after the event has finished and a transcript of the event will be available for downloading on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 the latest.
Conference call details
Conference call participants are requested to dial in five minutes before the scheduled time at:
United States: +1 646 741 2120
other countries: +44 1452 541 003
access code: 933 7053
A replay of the call will be available for two weeks until August 14, 2014 on the following phone numbers:
United States: +1 866 247 4222
other countries: +44 1452 550 000
access code: 933 7053
Distribution:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd
Media
www.metso.com
Metso Interim Review Q2 2014 http://hugin.info/3017/R/1845072/642473.pdf
HUG#1845072
