Latest news with #Agnevall
Reuters
25-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Tariffs to hit Wartsila's battery storage unit, marine business more shielded
April 25 (Reuters) - Finland's Wartsila ( opens new tab said U.S. tariffs were impacting its battery storage business while rising trade tensions could push back clients' investment decisions, after its quarterly operating earnings missed market expectations on Friday. Shares of Wartsila, which builds ship engines and power plants, fell up to 4.5% in volatile early trading, but flattened by 0940 GMT. Wartsila's CEO Hakan Agnevall told Reuters that he saw no major direct impact from U.S. tariffs on the marine business, as its ship building operations and most of its customers are located outside of the United States. But the battery storage unit, the other leg of its energy business, faces a clear tariff hit as it ships a lot of materials from Asia to its U.S. facilities. "With significant import duties imposed on China, you could say that that market is basically at standstill, and it will probably remain standstill for a quarter or two," Agnevall said. Some 15% to 20% of Wartsila's sales come from the United States. Despite the tariff concerns, Wartsila said it expected demand in both marine and energy divisions to improve over the next year. RBC analysts said they were "somewhat surprised" about the positive expectations for the energy business. Wartsila, which offers systems and services for navies and governmental marine organisations, saw positive sentiment around Europe's rising defence spending, although Agnevall said it would take time for it to concretely affect the company. "From the starting point of budgets being allocated, then trickling through the system, then getting into concrete orders, and those orders materialized for revenue bottom line impacts. That takes time," he said. The navy business makes up less than 4% of Wartsila's overall sales. Its comparable operating earnings grew 29% to 171 million euros ($194.36 million) in the first quarter, while analysts polled by Vara, opens new tab were expecting 172.7 million on average. ($1 = 0.8798 euros)
Reuters
05-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Wartsila CEO says US energy transition will continue despite Trump
HELSINKI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy will continue in the U.S. despite President Donald Trump's tariffs due to renewable energy's cheaper pricing, the CEO of power plant maker Wartsila ( opens new tab said on Wednesday. President Trump has laid out a sweeping plan to maximize oil and gas production, including by declaring a national energy emergency to speed permitting, and withdrawing the U.S. from an international pact to fight climate change. But Wartsila CEO Hakan Agnevall said the changes proposed by the Trump administration would not stop the energy transition from happening in the U.S. Renewables are growing "quicker than ever in the U.S.", Agnevall told Reuters. "We foresee that this trend will still continue, because it's the cheapest source of energy," he said, referring to wind and solar power. He said while offshore wind projects may face restrictions, onshore wind and solar will go ahead. Around 40% of the installed power generation base in Texas, known as the oil and gas state, is renewable, he said, adding it remained one of Wartsila's hottest markets for new power plants that use both renewable and conventional power sources to maintain steady supply. Finland-based Wartsila, which makes ship engines in addition to power plants, saw its fourth-quarter orders beat analysts' expectations earlier on Wednesday and said it expects demand to grow for both its marine and energy businesses this year. The company books a little less than 30% of its sales from the Americas. Agnevall admitted the energy business could be hit by possible U.S. tariffs against the EU but added the impact was hard to predict. With demand growing for data centres in the U.S. driven by the increased use of artificial intelligence, Agnevall said power grid capacity had reached its limits and that data centre developers were looking into building their own power plants. "This could evolve into interesting business for us," he said.
