Wärtsilä reports improved net sales and profit

Wärtsilä, a provider of technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets, has issued its Interim Report for January-September 2024. The report indicates positive results year to date, supported by a stable Q3.

Source: Wärtsilä

“The market environment for Wärtsilä’s businesses remained stable during the third quarter of 2024. However, geopolitical risks have amplified in recent months, adding uncertainty to the macroeconomic outlook,” said Hakan Agnevall, Wärtsilä president and CEO.

Net sales for the third quarter increased by 18% to EUR 1,718 million (1,452), with order intake stable at EUR 1,803 million (1,787). The comparable operating result increased by 41% to EUR 177 million, with a comparable operating margin of 10.3%.

The Energy market continued to show strength despite being influenced by protectionism and elevated geopolitical risks. “Despite the uncertainty surrounding the pace of the global energy transition, renewable energy sources have remained dominant in new capacity additions. The increasing need for balancing power to support the growth in renewable energy deployments has resulted in improved demand for engine power plants compared to last year,” Agnevall noted.

In the Marine sector, the market sentiment proved positive for the quarter, “with robust momentum in key customer segments for new vessels, while decarbonization-related retrofits and longer trade routes supported the demand for services,” Agnevall said.

The company saw investments in new ships increase over the prior year with a positive interest in alternative fuels. “In addition to LNG and methanol, ammonia has emerged as a promising alternative fuel as the shipping industry looks for more sustainable options,” said Agnevall.

Service order intake saw good level of activity in the third quarter, as well. “Reaching the industry’s goal of net-zero operations requires installing the right technical solutions onboard, but it is also crucial to ensure these solutions perform optimally throughout their entire lifetime,” Agnevall commented, adding that a highlight of the quarter was the signing of a five-year Lifecycle Agreement with Royal Caribbean Group covering 37 cruise ships.

For the period from January to September 2024, net sales rose by 5% to EUR 4,595 million (4,371), with order intake up 7% to EUR 5,580 million (5,214). The comparable operating result increased by 51% to EUR 485 million (320), representing 10.5% of net sales (7.3).

Wärtsilä expects this positive momentum to continue, with demand set to grow further in the coming months.

“We remain optimistic about growth prospects in both of our markets,” said Agnevall. “We expect the demand environment for the coming 12 months to be better than for the comparison period in both Marine and Energy. “