Wärtsilä’s Financial Statements Bulletin January–December 2020
This release is a summary of Wärtsilä’s Financial Statements Bulletin January–December 2020. The complete report is attached to this release as a pdf file. It is also available on the company website at www.wartsila.com.
Wärtsilä's prospects for 2021
Wärtsilä expects the near-term demand environment to be similar to that of the corresponding period in the previous year. However, visibility remains limited, and the prevailing market conditions make the outlook uncertain.
“2020 proved to be an unprecedented year, with Wärtsilä’s end markets heavily affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the measures taken globally to contain the pandemic. Vessel contracting decreased to record low levels, investments in new power plant capacity were postponed, and maintenance activities were pushed out, as the utilisation of installations declined and travel restrictions limited the mobility of service engineers. Although Wärtsilä’s order intake declined as a result, I am pleased to note some areas of resilience. Activity in the energy storage market held up well, driven by the increasing need for short-term flexible capacity, while the marine markets’ digital transformation accelerated along with the adoption of new technologies and digital applications in response to restrictions in physical travel and to enhance competitive positioning.
Not surprisingly, the impact of the pandemic on our financial performance for the year was significant. Net sales decreased because of lower service volumes and disruptions to equipment deliveries. While fourth quarter profitability improved sequentially, the seasonal pick-up in service activity was, as anticipated, weaker than in previous years. The operating result and profitability for the full year came in well below that of 2019, the main reasons being a less favourable sales mix, under absorption of fixed costs, and COVID-19 driven cost inflation. To mitigate the financial effects of COVID-19, we have implemented temporary actions to create savings in the form of reduced discretionary spending, worktime reductions, and temporary layoffs. We also placed a significant focus on decreasing credit risk and improving working capital, particularly in the areas of inventory management and receivables collection. As a result, our operating cash flow reached record high levels.
Despite the disruptions to our operations, our commitment to R&D activities has remained unchanged. Last year saw the launch of many solutions aimed at delivering higher efficiency, greater reliability, and better environmental sustainability to enhance the business of our customers. I am also pleased with the progress we have made in future-proofing engine technology, in line with the global trend towards the decarbonisation of the energy and marine markets. During the year, we initiated full-scale testing of ammonia as a fuel in our 4-stroke combustion engines and announced our intention to develop the gas engine combustion process to enable them over time to burn 100% hydrogen fuel. In the energy markets, we have stepped up our efforts to support our customers in understanding and accelerating the energy transformation. An example of this is the launch of the Energy Transition Lab, a platform that provides a better understanding of the implications on electricity generation, demand, and pricing resulting from the increased integration of energy from renewable sources, such as wind and solar.
The demand environment is likely to remain challenging in the short term, with near-term demand similar to the levels seen in early 2020. However, vaccine developments have provided some relief to the markets. We expect to see this having a positive effect on our business during the course of 2021, as country level vaccination programmes are implemented on a global scale. Looking further ahead, I remain confident that our strategy, and the organisational changes we implemented last year, position us well to capture opportunities arising from decarbonisation efforts in both the marine and energy markets.
This being the last results to be published before my retirement, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all my colleagues throughout Wärtsilä for your dedication and support. In particular, your help in navigating our way through the past challenging year is highly appreciated. It has been a true pleasure to work with you in developing Wärtsilä into the smart technology company it is today.”
|
MEUR |
10–12/2020 | 10–12/2019 | Change | 1–12/2020 | 1–12/2019 | Change |
| Order intake | 1,118 | 1,555 | -28% | 4,359 | 5,327 | -18% |
| of which services | 626 | 726 | -14% | 2,267 | 2,683 | -16% |
| Order book, end of period | 5,057 | 5,878 | -14% | |||
| Net sales | 1,220 | 1,684 | -28% | 4,604 | 5,170 | -11% |
| of which services | 654 | 741 | -12% | 2,255 | 2,505 | -10% |
| Book-to-bill | 0.92 | 0.92 | 0.95 | 1.03 | ||
| Operating result | 90 | 164 | -45% | 234 | 362 | -35% |
| % of net sales | 7.4 | 9.7 | 5.1 | 7.0 | ||
| Comparable operating result | 103 | 202 | -49% | 275 | 457 | -40% |
| % of net sales | 8.4 | 12.0 | 6.0 | 8.8 | ||
| Comparable adjusted EBITA* | 111 | 213 | -48% | 308 | 498 | -38% |
| % of net sales | 9.1 | 12.6 | 6.7 | 9.6 | ||
| Profit before taxes | 78 | 153 | -49% | 191 | 315 | -39% |
| Earnings/share, EUR | 0.10 | 0.17 | 0.23 | 0.37 | ||
| Cash flow from operating activities | 274 | 295 | 681 | 232 | ||
| Net interest-bearing debt, end of period | 394 | 726 | ||||
| Gross capital expenditure | 117 | 122 | ||||
| Gearing | 0.18 | 0.30 | ||||
| Solvency, % | 38.1 | 40.8 | ||||
| Personnel, end of period | 17,792 | 18,795 | -5% | |||
| *Comparable adjusted EBITA excludes items affecting comparability and purchase price allocation amortisation. | ||||||
Wärtsilä’s financial information for the first quarter of 2020 and for the full year 2019 has been adjusted to reflect the group’s new reporting structure. As of the second quarter of 2020, Marine Power, Marine Systems, Voyage, and Energy constitute the reportable segments of the group, while Portfolio Business continues to be reported as other business activities. This restatement has no impact on the group’s total financial figures.
As published in the Interim report January-March 2020, order book figures for 2019 have been restated due to the stricter requirements for booking new orders, and personnel comparison figures for 2019 have been adjusted to correctly reflect the business line composition of the Portfolio Business and a change in allocation principles. The tables in this report reflect both changes.
Wärtsilä presents certain alternative performance measures in accordance with the guidance issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). The definitions of these alternative performance measures are presented in the Calculations of financial ratios section.
Board of Directors’ dividend proposal
The Board of Directors proposes that a dividend of EUR 0.20 per share be paid for the financial year 2020. The parent company’s distributable funds total EUR 974,008,736.28, which includes EUR 264,838,387.72 in net profit for the year. There are 591,723,390 shares with dividend rights. The dividend shall be paid in two instalments.
The first instalment of EUR 0.10 per share shall be paid to the shareholders who are registered in the list of shareholders maintained by Euroclear Finland Oy on the dividend record date of 8 March 2021. The payment day proposed by the Board for this instalment is 15 March 2021.
The second instalment of EUR 0.10 per share shall be paid in September 2021. The second instalment of the dividend shall be paid to shareholders who are registered in the list of shareholders maintained by Euroclear Finland Oy on the dividend record day, which, together with the payment day, shall be decided by the Board of Directors in its meeting scheduled for 9 September 2021. The dividend record day for the second instalment as per the current rules of the Finnish book-entry system would be 13 September 2021 and the dividend payment day 20 September 2021.
A virtual analyst and press conference will be held as a webinar today, Thursday 28 January 2021, at 10:00 a.m. Finnish time (8:00 a.m. UK time).
If you only wish to view the stream, please register at: http://www.mediaserver.fi/live/wartsila.
If you plan to view the stream and ask questions in the Q&A session, please register at: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1774883758723889675.
Please register using only one of the links above, not both. Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email that includes specific joining instructions.
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Please note that there will be no separate audio (phone) line for the event. The Q&A session will use the audio in the GoToWebinar tool itself. In case you are joining via mobile, you may need to install the free GoToWebinar app from the app store.
To enter into the questions and answers queue, please use the raise your hand function in the webinar platform and unmute your microphone when the moderator announces your name. Please remember to lower your hand once your question has been answered.
For more information on joining and setting up your audio for Q&A, you may visit the official GoToWebinar attendee joining guide at: https://support.goto.com/webinar/how-to-join-attendees. Instructions on Q&A related functionalities can be found at: https://support.logmeininc.com/gotowebinar/help/raise-your-hand.
A recording of the webcast will be available on the company website as soon as possible after the event.
For further information, please contact:
Arjen Berends
Executive Vice President & CFO
Tel. +358 10 709 5444
arjen.berends@wartsila.com
Natalia Valtasaari
Vice President, Investor Relations
Tel. +358 10 709 5637
natalia.valtasaari@wartsila.com
For press information, please contact:
Atte Palomäki
Executive Vice President, Communications, Branding & Marketing
Tel. +358 10 709 5599
atte.palomaki@wartsila.com
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation, total efficiency and data analytics, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2020, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 4.6 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
www.wartsila.com
Financial Statements Bulletin 2020
