Finland’s marine services giant Wartsila took a knock from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the resulting turmoil and uncertainty in the energy markets during 2022.
Reporting figures for what the company described as “a challenging year with strong annual growth”, Wartsila turned in a loss of €59m ($63.8m) for 2022, a reversal of a profit of €193m a year earlier.
The operating result fell to a loss of €26m from a profit of €314m. This included a €200m write-down related to the company’s exit from Russia and a further €90m relating to its ramp down of its engine manufacturing in Trieste, Italy.
But net sales for the year were 22% higher at €5.8bn, compared with €4.8bn in 2021.
Wartsila said its order intake for 2022 rose by 6% to €6.1bn from €5.7bn.
The company’s service order intake rose 17% to €3.1bn from €2.6bn in 2021.
Wartsila president and chief executive Hakan Agnevall said: “The year 2022 was characterised by geopolitical tensions and uncertainty in the global business environment.”
Agnevall said the war in Ukraine has had a strong impact on the markets the company operates in, particularly the energy markets.
The CEO said market sentiment improved throughout 2022 in the marine market.
He said ordering activity was supported by the record numbers of LNG carriers placed during the year.
Fleet reactivations and improved demand for tonnage in the passenger and cruise sectors helped support the company’s service business.
“Decarbonisation continues to be an increasingly important topic for our customers,” Agnevall said, highlighting a new hybrid propulsion system for four new heavylift vessels, which will minimise their CO2 emissions.
Wartsila said its goal is to become carbon-neutral in its own operations and be able to provide a product portfolio ready for zero-carbon fuels by 2030.
The company has opted to buy fully green electricity in Finland and has developed processes to utilise all heat and power from its engine testing and explore ways to shorten the time needed for test runs.
“Decarbonisation will transform our industries and we have a key role to play in driving that transformation,” Agnevall said.
Wartsila said it expects the demand environment for the next 12 months for its marine business will be “similar” to that seen in 2021. But it sees improvement in its energy business.
