International technology Group Andritz has reported net income of EUR 123.6 million for the third quarter of 2014, an increase on last year’s EUR 78.8 million, showing solid business development in an unchanged challenging economic environment.

Sales

Sales amounted to EUR 1,463.5 million in the third quarter of 2014 and were thus below the level of the previous year’s reference period. The decline of 4.6% is mainly due to a project-related drop in sales in the Pulp & Paper and the Metals business areas, the company reports.

In the first three quarters of 2014, sales of the Group amounted to EUR 4,122.9 million, a 0.5% decrease compared with the previous year.

Order intake

The order intake in the third quarter of 2014 amounted to EUR 1,591.5 million, which is 4.3% higher than the level in the third quarter of 2013. This positive development is attributable to the Metals business area, where several larger orders were secured in the metal forming (Schuler) and aluminium sectors.

In the first three quarters of 2014, the order intake of the Group saw very favorable development, according to Andritz. At EUR 4,571.6 million, order intake was by 12.8% higher than in the previous year’s reference period, when it constituted EUR 4,051.3 million – with the Schuler Group contributing EUR 916.3 million.

EBITA

As of 30 September this year, the order backlog amounted to EUR 7,702.2 million – an increase of 4.2% compared to the end of 2013, when it constituted EUR 7,388.5 million.

In the third quarter of 2014, the EBITA amounted to EUR 101 million and was thus 44.1% higher than the low level of the previous year’s reference period, which was impacted negatively by additional costs in the Pulp & Paper and the Separation business areas.

The Groupʼs EBITA margin also increased substantially to 6.9%. In the first three quarters of 2014, the EBITA amounted to EUR 234.4 million, showing a 40.4% increase versus the same period in 2013; and the EBITA margin was 5.7%, compared to 4% last year.

Outlook

On the basis of this business development, the current order backlog, and the sales contribution by the Schuler Group, which was not included in the accounts for the full twelve months in 2013, Andritz expects a slight rise in sales in the 2014 business year compared to the previous year.

The company also expects a significant improvement in the net income compared to the low level of 2013.

www.andritz.com