However, this becomes more difficult to process quickly, so the sales forecast is lowered. Orders from January to September rose 9.8% to CHF 2.59 billion, Sulzer said on Wednesday.
But only in the third quarter the momentum slowed a bit. From June to September, order intake increased organically by 8.3 percent. The company will not release sales and profit figures until the annual results.
In numbers, Sulzer slightly exceeded analysts’ expectations (AWP consensus).
Sulzer expects the markets the company serves to remain robust despite the challenges. Therefore, the company is increasing its forecast for incoming orders from plus 3 to 5 percent to plus 6 to 8 percent.
Sales are only likely to remain flat compared to 2021. Lockdowns in China, bottlenecks in components and project delays are likely to delay some of the sales expected in 2022 into next year.
Sulzer has so far promised sales growth of between 2 and 4 percent, excluding the effects of the exit from Russia. Meanwhile, an operating margin target of “nearly 10 percent” was confirmed.
Jan Lüder will also take over the management of the largest division, Flow Equipment, from 2023. Joined Sulzer from Thyssenkrupp; Most recently, he led the Mining Technologies subsidiary of the German industrial group.
Flow Equipment was previously led by Frédéric Lalanne in addition to his role as CEO. However, Lalanne will resign at the end of October 2022.
Sulzer is making headlines these days with a surprising change in the top of the operations team. Chairman of the Board, Suzanne Thoma, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and will thus take over the operational management of the company.
At the same time, Thoma was tasked by the board with “a comprehensive review and realignment of the strategy.” Given the changing market environment and the structural shift in demand in the energy and infrastructure sectors, action is needed based on reason. In other words: less products in the oil and gas sector, but more products for sustainability.
Thoma will assume a dual role, at least until the development of the new corporate strategy is complete and the first phase of its implementation. However, Sulzer will not report the first findings of the strategy review until the first half of 2023.
(SDA)