Wärtsilä’s fourth quarter order intake drops

Finnish engine manufacturer Wärtsilä order intake during the fourth quarter 2016 dropped 6 percent from the same quarter in 2015, reaching €1.32 billion (Approx. US$1.41 billion).

Order intake for the year 2016 reached €4.93 billion, remaining fairly the same as the order intake recorded in the corresponding period in 2015, the company said in its report on Friday.

Net sales for the fourth quarter and the whole year decreased 2 and 5 percent respectively.

The fourth quarter net sales decreased to €1.56 billion from €1.59 billion in the corresponding quarter the year before, while the net sales for the whole year reached €4.8 billion, down from €5 billion in 2015.

Speaking of the company’s performance Jaakko Eskola, president and CEO of Wärtsilä said that the weak growth in seaborne trade, low oil and gas prices, as well as customers’ financial constraints, burdened the marine industry throughout the year, which resulted in exceptionally low contracting activity.

“Looking into 2017, we expect our business environment to remain largely unchanged,” Eskola said.

Wärtsilä’s current order book for 2017 deliveries is €3,14 billion which mainly comprises marine solutions and energy solutions’ deliveries. The company is looking to offset the lower volumes in the marine markets by improving its efficiency.

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