The Finnish quarrying and aggregates equipment group posted a 9% increase in sales to €4,236m (€3,897m in 2020).
Adjusted EBITA increased to €547m, or 12.9% of sales (€448m, or 11.5%), and operating profit improved to €425m, or 10.0% of sales (€253m, or 6.5%)
President and CEO Pekka Vauramo commented on the results: "Last year was successful for Metso Outotec. Our sales and results improved significantly, the company's integration and synergy programme was concluded ahead of the plan, and we also saw positive development in several other important areas, such as sustainability."
The merger of Metso Minerals and Outotec was completed on June 30, 2020.
Vauramo said the demand for Metso Outotec's products and services was strong the whole year, with all three segments (aggregates, minerals equipment and metals) reporting double-digit order growth.
He added that customer activity was particularly strong in investments in new equipment, whereas the pandemic-related restrictions somewhat limited the demand for on-site services.
"In line with our expectations based on backlog timing, our sales growth in Minerals equipment and Metals accelerated during the last two quarters. Supply chain constraints have lengthened delivery times also for the services and Aggregates orders lately."
The annual sales growth of 9% as well as cost synergies and other improvement actions, had a positive impact on the group's profitability. Its adjusted EBITA increased 22% to €547m and adjusted EBITA margin improved to 12.9%. In addition, we generated a strong cash flow from operations of €608m.
In the fourth quarter, the sales growth of 31% resulted in a strong adjusted EBITA of €164m and adjusted EBITA margin of 12.8%.
Vauramo commented on the Q4 performance: "In line with our expectations, challenges in the global supply chain and higher logistics and energy costs had some negative impact on our profitability during the quarter. The overall positive development and the healthy backlog at the year-end, however, provide us with a solid starting point to continue our journey towards our targets during 2022."
He added that the group made strong progress in sustainability in 2021, and updated targets relating to emissions reductions in its own footprint and aims for a 50% reduction in own CO2 emissions by 2024 and achieving net-zero by 2030.
"During the year, we achieved a 58% reduction compared to the baseline of 2019," Vauramo said. "This equals around 70 kt less CO2 emissions. We achieved this reduction by, for example, shifting to the use of renewable energy at the majority of our biggest locations. We also continued our efforts to decarbonise our supply chain and engaged several energy-intensive suppliers to this undertaking."
Metso Outotec has launched the Planet Positive portfolio, which includes products that help customers improve their water and energy efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions, and improve safety. The scope for Planet Positive portfolio currently covers about 100 products and solutions, and the group aims to include its services offering within the scope of the portfolio during 2022. Sales of Planet Positive products totaled €592m in 2021, and Vauramo said this is targeted to grow faster than the group's overall sales.
As of the beginning of 2022, our focus is on growth; our customer industries offer a lot of opportunities for both organic growth and selected bolt-on acquisitions. At the same time, in line with our announcement of carrying out a strategic review of the Metals business portfolio, we will advance with the next steps in the development of our Metals businesses. I am confident that our actions to grow and strengthen our performance will continue to generate value for our stakeholders.
Giving a Covid-19 market update, Metso Outotec says that local and regional restrictions and lockdowns continued to limit access to customer sites and in certain countries, also to our its premises. Despite gradual easing of restrictions, challenges related mainly to international travel remained. These are apt to slow down decision-making and overall cooperation with customers.
Vauramo said that, while the Omicron variant has appeared less serious, its rapid spread has been a challenge especially to the manufacturing and warehousing operations, where a higher number of sick leaves has resulted in temporary shortages of employees. He added that Metso Outotec’s own operations, however, have run without any significant disruptions, thanks to various measures such as replanned work and increased utilisation of temporary workforce.
