Finnish engine manufacturer Wärtsilä on Thursday informed its order intake for the first quarter 2016 was at €1.27 billion, 1 percent down on the same period in 2015.
The company’s net sales also went down 2 percent from €988 million in the first quarter of 2015 to €967 million during the January-March period this year, according to Wärtsilä’s statement.
Prospects for the year 2016 remain unchanged, the company said, adding that it still expects net sales to grow by 0-5 percent, and its profitability to be 12.5-13.0 percent.
Jaakko Eskola, president and CEO of Wärtsilä said, “despite the somewhat improved sentiment in the power generation markets, the competitive environment remains tough.”
550 jobs on the chopping block
In a separate statement, Wärtsilä revealed it plans to realign its organisation, operations and resources to the “weakened newbuild market situation and the tough competitive environment”.
The plans will mainly affect the Marine and Energy businesses where approximately 550 jobs, of which 270 in Finland, will be cut.
“In taking the realignment measures, Wärtsilä seeks annual savings in the region of €50 million,” the statement reads.
With the aim of reducing development cycles, Wärtsilä plans to concentrate more of the engine related R&D activities to Finland.
Eskola added that the adjustments have to be made in order to maintain the company’s competitiveness in the global market.
1 Euro = 1.13 USD
[mappress mapid=”18008″]
LNG World News Staff