Pöyry PLC: Financial statement release 7 February 2019 at 8.30 a.m. EET

Pöyry PLC          Financial statement release 7 February 2019 at 8.30 a.m. EET

Full year adjusted operating result up by 67%

Key figures for July-December 2018

(Figures in brackets, unless otherwise stated, refer to the same period of the previous year.)

• The adjusted operating result increased to EUR 24.1 (16.0) million. Adjusted operating result has improved for ten consecutive quarters. It improved in Energy, Industry and Management Consulting business groups and remained stable in Infra, Water and Environment business group. Operating result was EUR 21.7 (11.4) million.
• Net sales were EUR 296.9 (255.1) million. They increased in all business groups.
• Order intake increased compared to the corresponding period in the previous year and resulted in a 19.6% increase in the Group's order stock, ending at EUR 536.3 (448.5) million.
• Net cash flow from operating activities amounted to EUR 76.8 (40.1) million, pushing gearing to -58.7%.

Key figures for January-December 2018

(Figures in brackets, unless otherwise stated, refer to the same period of the previous year.)

• Adjusted operating result increased to EUR 43.2 (26.0) million. It improved in all business groups. Operating result was EUR 54.7 (15.1) million.
• Net sales were EUR 579.5 (522.3) million. They increased in all business groups.
• Order intake increased and resulted in the Group's order stock of EUR 536.3 (448.5) million.

All figures and sums have been rounded off from the exact figures, which may lead to minor discrepancies upon addition or subtraction.

Martin à Porta, President and CEO:

All units continued to improve profitability during 2018 resulting in the 10^th consecutive quarter with improved profitability comparing to previous year same quarter. With three out of four business groups having reached or exceeded our benchmarks, we are confident that our transformation program is providing the results we are aiming at. Strong cash collection and solid performance enabled a very favourable net debt position of negative 103.5 MEUR. While order intake did not reach our high ambitions, we have still been able to grow the order stock by 19% at comparable currencies vs previous year. In the outlook we are confident that our actions to increase client focus showing a solid pipeline will convert to new orders during the first half of 2019.

Demand for our Industry Business Group services continued to be strong especially in Northern Europe and we saw improvement in Latin America. Demand for our energy services continued to be strong especially in Middle-East and Asia while the European energy market continues to transform providing selected business opportunities for consulting. The Infra, Water and Environment Business Group has improved its performance and especially Northern Europe is steady.

Our transformation and empowerment programs continue to have strong momentum. The Intrapeneur DNA concept is widely spread and supported by our strong experts globally. We can see this from our employee engagement survey conducted in the 4^th quarter which showed further increase in engagement and motivation of our staff.

Board of Directors' proposal for disposal of distributable funds

The Group's parent company Pöyry PLC's net result for 2018 amounted to EUR 13,260,757.70 and retained earnings were EUR 43,344,933.21. The total distributable earnings were EUR 56,605,690.91. The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the Board of Directors be authorized to decide at its discretion on the distribution of dividends so that the total amount of the dividend distribution based on this authorization shall not exceed EUR 0.35 per share. The authorization would be valid until the opening of the next Annual General Meeting.

In case the Board of Directors will resolve to use the authorisation, the company shall publish a separate announcement on the amount as well as record date and payment date for the distribution. The Board of Directors have resolved not to use the authorisation should the pending tender offer for the shares of Pöyry PLC be carried out by ÅF AB (publ).

Financial outlook for 2019

In connection to the recommended public cash tender offer announced on 10 December 2018, Pöyry published information on its guidance for 2019. Pöyry reiterates the guidance given.

"The Group's adjusted operating result is expected to improve (2018: 43.2 MEUR)."

The guidance is based on current order stock level and market outlook in general.

The guidance has been prepared on a standalone basis, and it therefore does not take into account the effect that the completion of the planned combination of ÅF and Pöyry through the tender offer would have on Pöyry's financial outlook.  

Market outlook 2019

In general, market conditions are expected to continue with similar trends to the last 12 months. Growth in the Eurozone has continued, but current volatility in equity markets and political uncertainty may impact investment decisions. In Asia the markets relevant to our operations continue to be active and offer opportunities, especially to our energy offering. The Middle East shows continued high demand for desalination and new power capacity. Latin America is mixed, Brazil's economy may show recovery more quickly as investment activity is anticipated to increase. The North American market demand continues to be good but trade barriers set by the USA and potential counter measures to them create uncertainties in North American and global markets.

Our industry business sector has continued to be strong especially in Europe where activity is expected to remain strong. The outlook for other regions remains mixed. The energy market in Europe continues to provide a few selected opportunities and remains strong for our management consulting services for market design, modelling and due diligence work. Infra, water and environment markets are stable and we see steady flow of projects in our core markets.

Recommended public cash tender offer launched by ÅF

On 10 December 2018 ÅF AB (publ) announced a recommended public cash tender offer for all Pöyry shares with intention to merge ÅF and Pöyry. The tender price is 10.20 EUR per share and is unanimously recommended by Board of Directors of Pöyry. The original tender period was intended to end on 31 January 2019. The completion of the Tender Offer is subject to certain conditions to be fulfilled or waived by ÅF on or by the date of ÅF's announcement of the final result of the Tender Offer, including, amongst others, all necessary regulatory approvals having been received by ÅF and ÅF having obtained more than 90 percent of the Shares and voting rights carried by the Shares. Further information on the recommended public cash tender offer can be found at www.drivinggrowthtogether.com

Events after the reporting period

On 31 January 2019 ÅF AB (publ) extended the tender period to last until 15 February 2019, as all the conditions to the completion had not yet been fulfilled. ÅF will announce the preliminary result of the Tender Offer on or about 18 February 2019 and the final result of the Tender Offer on or about 20 February 2019.

Materials to the AGM

The Annual Review 2018 including the financial statements and the Board of Directors' report as well as other documents presented to the Annual General Meeting will be published on the company's website at www.poyry.com on 14 February 2019 at the latest.

This is a summary of the January-December 2018 financial statement release. The complete financial statement release is enclosed with this stock exchange release and is available in full on the company's website at www.poyry.com. Investors are advised to review the complete financial statement release with tables.

PÖYRY PLC

Additional information:
Juuso Pajunen, CFO
Tel. +358 10 33 26632

Invitation to conference call today on 7 February 2019

The result will be presented in English at a conference for analysts, investors and the press at 1:00 p.m. Finnish time (EET). The conference will be held at Pöyry house, Jaakonkatu 3, Vantaa, Finland. The event will be hosted by Martin à Porta, President and CEO, and Juuso Pajunen, CFO. The participants who will attend the conference at Pöyry house have been requested to inform about their participation by 4 February 2019. 

The participants can also join a conference call that will be arranged in conjunction with the conference. The conference call details can be found below.

A live webcast of the conference can be followed online on the company's website at www.poyry.com/investors. A recording will be made available by the next working day on the same website.

To attend the conference call, please dial:

FI:            +358 (0)9 7479 0361

SE:          +46 (0)8 5033 6574

UK:         +44 (0)330 336 9105

US:         +1 323-794-2093

Other countries: +44 (0)330 336 9105

Conference ID: 8959325

Due to the nature of the live webcast, we kindly ask those attending the conference call to dial in 5-10 minutes prior to the start of the event.

Pöyry is an international consulting and engineering company.  We serve clients across power generation, transmission & distribution, forest industry, biorefining & chemicals, mining & metals, infrastructure, water & environment. Together, we deliver smart solutions and work with the latest digital innovations. Pöyry's net sales in 2018 were EUR 580 million. The company's shares are quoted on Nasdaq Helsinki. Approximately 5500 experts. 40 countries. 120 offices.