Wärtsilä reports increase in order intake

“The year has started rather well with order intake increasing by 13 percent,” says Wärtsilä Corporation President and CEO Björn Rosengren, commenting on the company’s first quarter performance. “Our profitability was 10.1 percent and we are well on track to reach our targets for this year. Our net sales development was in line with our overall expectation of rather low Power Plants and Ship Power deliveries during the first quarter. Services’ net sales grew by 12 percent with the increase coming from both parts and field services.”

Wärtsilä sees the overall outlook for vessel contracting activity during 2012 remaining largely unchanged, with full year contracting expected to be at a similar level or slightly lower than in 2011. Contracting is expected to remain slow for bulk carriers, container vessels and tankers. In these sectors efficient designs are expected to be a common theme in contracting negotiations, due to economic pressures to reduce fuel consumption. Contracting in the LNG carrier segment is expected to remain robust during the year, with levels in line with activity seen during the first quarter of 2012. The offshore segment continues to present good future contracting opportunities, especially for drilling ships and support vessels. The interest for gas fueled vessels has increased also in segments that have not previously been powered by gas. The environmental agenda is also expected to remain a central issue, thus driving interest in solutions for environmental compliance.

Despite the slightly improved market situation in the first quarter, some uncertainties remain in the service market. The merchant marine segments are still expected to be under pressure, as overcapacity in the market continues to impact the potential for services in this area. Development in the active installed base is also expected to be moderate, with continued scrapping, layups, slow steaming, and the low utilization of vessels in the merchant segments. The power plant service market is expected to develop steadily.

Key figures from the interim report:

1 EBITA is shown excluding non-recurring items of EUR 7 million (2) and intangible asset amortisation of EUR 8 million (4) related to acquisitions.
2 EBIT is shown excluding non-recurring items.

April 20, 2012