Wärtsilä’s first quarter order intake grows

Finnish engine manufacturer Wärtsilä order intake during the first three months of 2017 grew 11 percent to €1.41 billion (US$1.55 billion) from €1.27 billion in the corresponding period in 2016.

Net sales rose 4 percent from €967 million in the first three months of 2016 to €1 billion during the period under review, Wärtsilä said in its quarterly report.

Speaking of the results, Wärtsilä’s president and CEO, Jaakko Eskola, said, “Services’ order intake was boosted by growing interest in long-term service agreements, while customers in the energy markets continued to invest in new power generation, in both the emerging markets and industrialized countries.”

He also added that the marine solutions business benefited from the continued activity in the cruise and FSRU markets.

“Although vessel contracting has remained low, signs of improving sentiment indicate a gradual recovery in demand towards the latter part of the year,” Eskola said.

Speaking of the company’s outlook, Eskola expects the customers’ maintenance schedules and the increased demand for long-term agreements to further improve the service activity.

Wärtsilä’s order book at the end of the first quarter amounted to €5,09 billion with services and energy solutions order book showing an increase while the marine solutions order book dropped 21 percent.

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