Net sales increased 23% on last year’s period, and were €1,444m.
“Metso’s good progress continued during the first quarter,” said president and CEO Matti Kähkönen. “I am especially excited about the growth – in both new orders and in net sales. Increasing volumes also positively contributed to our profitability.
Demand in most of Metso’s customer industries is back to a relatively normal level with some variations by customer industry and geographic area. The demand picture is generally favourable he said, but there are also uncertainties related to fragility of economic recovery, inflationary pressures as well as high oil price. “On the positive side, the operating environment is estimated to continue strong in the emerging markets and the outlook in the mining business is good,” he said.
The company estimates that its net sales will grow about 15% compared to 2010 and profitability will improve.
“Our operational priorities are clear. We continue to pursue new profitable orders and to secure our delivery capability, while keeping a tight reign over costs,” said Kähkönen.
Metso said that demand in most of its customer industries has come back to a relatively normal level with some variations by customer industry and geographic area. In the emerging markets the operating environment is estimated to continue being strong and the outlook in the mining business good. The uncertainty caused by the budget deficits in many European countries and the United States, the availability of financing and fluctuations in the exchange rates may, however, slow down market activity, especially in Europe and North America. Political unrest in recent months in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the natural disaster in Japan have also contributed to the overall uncertainty.
In the Asia-Pacific region and Brazil, economic growth continues and infrastructure construction projects are maintaining demand for construction equipment at a good level. “We anticipate that demand for equipment used in aggregates production by the construction industry in Europe and in North America will continue to gradually recover in 2011 thanks to the growing need for replacement investments. We estimate that demand for our services for the construction industry will remain satisfactory,” said the company.
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