Andritz Group Announces Results for the First Half of 2017

Sales amounted to 2,779.0 MEUR in the first half of 2017 and were thus at practically the same level as in the previous year s reference period (+0.6% compared to H1 2016: 2,761.2 MEUR). Sales in the second quarter of 2017 dropped by 5.6% compared to the previous year to 1,392.8 MEUR (Q2 2016: 1,475.6 MEUR).

The order intake increased – due to the very strong first quarter – in the first half of 2017 to 2,771.3 MEUR and was thus 8.0% higher than in the previous year’s reference period (H1 2016: 2,566.4 MEUR). The Pulp & Paper business area, in particular, achieved a substantial increase in order intake that more than compensated the decline in order intake in the Hydro business area. In the second quarter of 2017, the order intake of 1,211.3 MEUR was 8.2% below the level of the previous year’s reference period (Q2 2016: 1,319.0 MEUR). The reason for this decrease was the lower order intake due to market conditions in the Hydro business area and a decline in the metal forming sector, which achieved an extraordinarily high order intake in the previous year’s reference period.

The order backlog as of June 30, 2017, amounted to 6,849.1 MEUR (+0.9% compared to December 31, 2016: 6,789.2 MEUR).

The EBITA in the first half of 2017 was positively impacted by a one-off effect in the amount of around 25 MEUR, which resulted mainly from the sale of Schuler’s technical center in Tianjin, China; it reached 207.3 MEUR and was thus significantly higher than the figure for the previous year’s reference period (+13.3% compared to H1 2016: 183.0 MEUR). As a result, profitability (EBITA margin) increased to 7.5% (H1 2016: 6.6%). Excluding this one-off effect, profitability would have remained unchanged compared to the previous year at 6.6%. In the second quarter of 2017, the EBITA amounted to 109.9 MEUR (+10.9% compared to Q2 2016: 99.1 MEUR).

The net income (without non-controlling interests) increased in the first half of 2017 to 130.8 MEUR (H1 2016: 120.2 MEUR).

Wolfgang Leitner, President & CEO of Andritz AG: “We are satisfied overall with developments in the first half of the year, even though we were not able to reach all our targets in our business areas. As far as the markets we serve are concerned, we do not expect any substantial changes in project and investment activity for the remainder of the year.”

For the 2017 business year, Andritz has revised its sales forecast slightly and now expects a marginal decline in sales compared to 2016. From today’s perspective, profitability (EBITA margin) should at least reach the solid level of the previous year.