Andritz sales of €1,510 mn in Q1 '20 equivalent to Q1 '19

The order intake of the group developed favourably – driven above all by the very positive development in the Pulp & Paper business area – in the first quarter of 2020 and, at €1,852.9 million, was 11.7 per cent higher than the figure for the previous year’s reference period (Q1 2019: €1,658.1 million).

For Pulp & Paper, the order intake once again reached a high level at €1,078.2 million. It was 33.6 per cent higher than the previous year’s reference figure (Q1 2019: €806.9 million). This strong increase is largely attributable to a large scale order in the mid-three-digit million euros range being booked for the supply of energy-efficient and environmentally leading equipment and processes for a new pulp mill to be delivered to UPM in Uruguay. The Service business also developed favourably.

For Metals, the order intake at €361.5 million reached a solid level in view of the unchanged, difficult market conditions and was slightly higher than the figure for the previous year’s reference period (+3.8 per cent versus Q1 2019:€348.1 million). This is attributable to the Metals Forming (Schuler) sector, which was able to increase its order intake compared to the previous year and hence more than make up for the decline in the Metals Processing sector.

For Hydro, In a market environment still marked by low investment activity, order intake was at €245.5 million, significantly lower than the figure for the previous year’s reference period (-21.8 per cent versus Q1 2019: €313.9 million). There were no larger projects for modernisation or new investments for hydropower stations awarded worldwide during the reporting period.

For Separation, order intake amounted to €167.7 million and was thus well below the figure for the previous year’s reference period (-11.4 per cent versus Q1 2019: €189.2 million). While the feed technologies sector saw an increase in order intake compared to the previous year’s reference period, development of the solid/liquid separation sector declined.

The EBITA of the group in the first quarter of 2020 at €70.1 million was significantly lower than the figure for the previous year’s reference period (-15.3 per cent versus Q1 2019: €82.8 million)

The global Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant adverse effect on the development of the global economy.

According to forecasts by economic experts, the majority of countries and the largest economic regions will slide into a severe recession in the coming quarters. As it neither can be estimated today how the pandemic will continue to develop, nor when it will end, it is possible that the global economic weakness will also continue in 2021 and may even intensify. This could result in further negative effects on the development of sales and earnings in the Andritz Group.

On March 23, 2020, Andritz suspended its financial guidance concerning the expected development of sales and earnings for 2020, as published during presentation of the results for 2019, due to the global Covid-19 pandemic and its related negative impact on the economy.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)