Alstom’s orders recovered in the third quarter of 2009/2010, whilst sales remained sustained
– By Stephen Heiser –
During the first nine months of 2009/10 (from 1 April to 31 December 2009), the level of orders booked by Alstom reached €11.4 billion. Sales, at €14.4 billion, continued to grow, up by 6% as compared to the same period of last year.
“After a trough in orders during the second quarter of the year, the third quarter saw an improvement, illustrated by a book-to-bill ratio of 0.9 and the large contracts secured by both Sectors. The sales continued to grow on the back of our strong backlog. The current tendering activity is sustained but the timing for future bookings remains uncertain”, said Patrick Kron, Alstom’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer.
Orders booked during the third quarter of 2009/10 amounted to €4.2 billion. Order intake in both Sectors strongly improved as compared to the previous quarter. Power received orders of €2.7 billion, with commercial successes in coal in Europe. Transport registered contracts amounting to €1.6 billion, benefiting notably from a large order for regional trains in France.
Sales for the third quarter of 2009/10 at €4.7 billion were up by 3% compared with the same period of the previous year. The total backlog reached €44 billion at 31 December 2009, representing approximately 27 months of sales.
Order intake for the first nine months of 2009/10 in Power amounted to €7.4 billion, 48% below the exceptionally high level of the first nine months of 2008/09 which included several very large projects. This evolution reflects the less dynamic demand in new equipment as well as the lack of associated operation and maintenance contracts, with customers delaying their future investment due to the difficult economic environment.
After a very low point during the second quarter, orders for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2009/10 reached €2.7 billion. Notably, Thermal Systems & Products booked two large coal contracts in Germany and in Slovenia, as well as two GT13 gas turbines in the Middle East and a control system in South Africa. Orders decreased in Thermal Services due to fewer power plant outages as customers look for a reduction of operating costs, and to a lack of retrofit contracts over the period. Throughout the quarter, the Renewables segment only recorded small orders, which explains its level of bookings in comparison to the third quarter last year which included a major hydro project in Brazil.
Over the first nine months of the year, sales at €10.1 billion grew by 7%, fuelled by the solid order intake over the past periods.
During the third quarter 2009/10, sales increased in all Power activities, with the exception of Thermal Services, which has short lead times and was therefore immediately impacted by the lower order intake of the quarter.
On 30 November 2009, the Supervisory Board of Areva announced its decision to enter into exclusive negotiations with Alstom and Schneider Electric for the acquisition of the activities of its Transmission and Distribution business, Areva T&D. The disposal agreement will be finalised following the approval of the Commission des Participations et des Transferts, consultation of employee representatives and the agreement of the competition authorities.