Metso's Financial Statements Review January 1 - December 31, 2017

Metso's Financial Statements Review January 1 - December 31, 2017
Metso Corporation, Stock exchange release, February 2, 2018 at 09:00 a.m. EET
 
Metso will arrange an audio cast today at 1:00 p.m. EET, which is available at www.metso.com/latestreports. The event will feature a simultaneous conference call allowing participants to ask questions. Details of the call are available at the end of this release.

This is a summary of Metso's January 1 - December 31, 2017 Financial Statements Review. The complete report is attached to this release and is also available at www.metso.com/latestreports.

Figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period in 2016, unless otherwise stated.

Fourth-quarter 2017 in brief

• Market activity continued at a healthy level
• Orders received increased 2 percent, or 5 percent in constant currencies, and totaled EUR 684 million (EUR 672 million). Services orders decreased 2 percent, or increased 2 percent in constant currencies, to EUR 435 million (EUR 442 million)
• Sales increased 5 percent, or 8 percent in constant currencies, to EUR 710 million (EUR 676 million). Services sales increased 4 percent, or 7 percent in constant currencies, and totaled EUR 458 million (EUR 442 million)
• Adjusted EBITA was EUR 64 million, or 9.1 percent of sales (EUR 64 million, or 9.4%)
• Operating profit (EBIT) totaled EUR 60 million (EUR 44 million)
• Earnings per share totaled EUR 0.08 (EUR 0.17) and was affected by one-time tax-related items totaling EUR 29 million
• Free cash flow was EUR 57 million (EUR 97 million)

Full-year 2017 in brief

• Market activity improved compared to the previous year in all businesses
• Orders received increased 9 percent and totaled EUR 2,982 million (EUR 2,724 million). Services orders increased 9 percent to EUR 1,897 million (EUR 1,741 million)
• Sales increased 5 percent to EUR 2,706 million (EUR 2,586 million). Services sales increased 4 percent and totaled EUR 1,767 million (EUR 1,703 million)
• Adjusted EBITA was EUR 244 million, or 9.0 percent of sales (EUR 274 million, or 10.6%)
• Operating profit (EBIT) totaled EUR 218 million (EUR 227 million)
• Earnings per share totaled EUR 0.68 (EUR 0.87) and was affected by one-time tax-related items totaling EUR 29 million
• Free cash flow was EUR 158 million (EUR 339 million)
• The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of EUR 1.05 per share (EUR 1.05)

 Market outlook

Our market conditions are expected to develop as follows:

• Remain stable for Minerals equipment and services
• Remain stable for Flow Control equipment and services

The outlook represents our expected sequential market development with a rolling six-month view

President and CEO Nico Delvaux:      

Despite our Flow Control segment and Minerals equipment delivering good performance, the fourth quarter proved to be difficult for us. The decline in the orders of the Minerals segment resulted mainly from mining equipment and services and was largely due to timing and tighter controls on terms and conditions. Performance of the Minerals segment fell short of expectations due to low deliveries of services and was further affected by the continued margin pressure in consumables. Constraints in both internal and external supply chain, following the significant ramp-up of activity during the year had an impact on Minerals profitability. While some of these challenges were specific to the quarter, heavy focus on improving our delivery capability and operational efficiency will remain a priority.

Nevertheless, 2017 included many positives that will continue to support Metso going forward. The market environment in our main industries improved throughout the year. We implemented a new operating model and initiated solid plans to strengthen our customer focus and promote innovation across the businesses to serve our customers in a better way. We are confident that these are the right steps in driving profitable growth going forward.

Key figures

EUR million	Q4/2017		Q4/2016	Change %	2017	2016	Change %
Orders received	684		672	2	2,982	2,724	9
Orders received by the services business	435		442	-2	1,897	1,741	9
% of orders received	64		66		64	64
Order backlog at the end of the year					1,439	1,320	9
Sales	710		676	5	2,706	2,586	5
Sales of the services business	458		442	4	1,767	1,703	4
% of sales	65		65		65	66
Earnings before interest, tax and amortization (EBITA), adjusted	64		64	1	244	274	-11
% of sales	9.1		9.4		9.0	10.6
Operating profit (EBIT)	60		44	34	218	227	-4
% of sales	8.4		6.6		8.1	8.8
Earnings per share, EUR	0.08		0.17	-53	0.68	0.87	-22
Free cash flow	57		97	-41	158	339	-53
Return on capital employed (ROCE) before taxes, %					10.3	10.4
Equity-to-assets ratio at the end of the year, %					44.5	48.0
Net gearing at the end of the year, %					1.8	-1.8
Personnel at the end of the year					12,037	11,542	4

Conference call details
Conference call participants are requested to dial in five minutes before the event begins on:
United States: +1 323 794 2095
other countries: +44 330 336 9104

The confirmation code for joining the conference call is 755916. A recording and a transcript of the event will be available at www.metso.com/latestreports after the event has finished.

For further information, please contact:
Nico Delvaux, President and CEO, Metso Corporation, tel. +358 20 484 3000
Eeva Sipilä, CFO, Metso Corporation, tel. +358 20 484 3010
Juha Rouhiainen, VP, Investor Relations, Metso Corporation, tel. +358 20 484 3253                 
                                  
Metso Corporation
Eeva Sipilä
CFO

Juha Rouhiainen
VP, Investor Relations

Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Media
www.metso.com

Metso is a world-leading industrial company offering equipment and services for the sustainable processing and flow of natural resources in the mining, aggregates, recycling and process industries. With our unique knowledge and innovative solutions, we help our customers improve their operational efficiency, reduce risks and increase profitability. Metso is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki in Finland and had sales of about EUR 2.7 billion in 2017. Metso employs over 12,000 people in more than 50 countries.

www.metso.com,  www.twitter.com/metsogroup