The forest machine manufacturer witnessed a boost in its turnover towards the end of the year.
The renowned forest machine manufacturer Ponssen experienced an improvement in its turnover and profit in the last quarter of the year, from October to December, in comparison to the same period in the previous year.
In the final quarter of the year, Ponssen posted an operating profit of 13.8 million euros while making a turnover of 242.8 million euros. This performance surpassed the numbers from the same period the previous year, when the company recorded an operating result of 11.7 million euros and a turnover of 224.6 million euros in its continuing operations.
The data from Factsetin shows that the three analysts who closely track the company’s performance expected an average operating result of 13.7 million euros and a turnover of 199.4 million euros for the last quarter of the year.
By the end of the quarter, Ponssen’s order book recorded a total of 229.5 million euros. This figure was significantly lower compared to the same time a year ago when it was 353.7 million euros.
The company’s profit per share for the quarter was 0.27 euros, and the board proposed a dividend of 0.55 euros per share. In the same period a year ago, the company’s profit per share in continuing operations was higher, standing at 0.36 euros per share. At that time, the company proposed a slightly larger dividend of 0.60 euros per share.
The analysts had expected a higher average result per share of 0.46 euros and a proposed dividend per share of 0.60 euros.
In its forward-looking vision, Ponssen estimates that the operating profit in euros in 2024 will be at the same level as the operating profit in 2023, which was 47.2 million euros.
Transition in Strategy
On the morning of the earnings announcement, Ponssen also revealed plans to revamp its operating model. The purpose of this planned transformation is to establish an organization that focuses primarily on sales and maintenance services. This new structure is intended to be divided into five key market areas: the Nordic countries including the Baltics, Europe, South America, North America, and Asia, Australia, and Africa.
The company believes that the current operating model does not adequately support global operations, leading to challenges in the cost structure. The new operating model is expected to come into effect from June 1, 2024.
Simultaneously, the company also announced plans to initiate change negotiations. Preliminary estimates suggest that the planned measures could lead to a reduction of approximately 120–140 jobs worldwide. However, the restructuring could also create new roles. According to initial forecasts, the planned measures could result in annual savings of around 10 million euros from 2026. In terms of the estimated impacts in Finland, it could lead to a reduction of a maximum of 50–60 tasks, possible creation of new tasks, job description changes, and a maximum of two weeks’ layoffs for the personnel involved in the change negotiations during 2024.
