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Glaston Corp.’s orders received and net sales were up in the first quarter of 2020, which includes January through March, compared to the pro forma amount reported for the same period of 2019. That’s according to the company’s Q1 2020 financial results.
Orders received were $49.5 million* compared to $49.2 million. Net sales grew from the pro forma amount of $48 million in Q1 2019 to $50.9 million in Q1 2020. Comparable EBITA was $2.17 million, a decline from Q1 2019, but given prevailing circumstances, at a satisfactory level, according to the company.
The pro forma financial information for Q1 2019 in these financial statements is presented as if Glaston’s acquisition of Bystronic Glass would have already been completed on January 1, 2019.
“The first quarter of 2020 was satisfactory given the prevailing conditions. Since the beginning of the year, COVID-19 has impacted the daily lives and work of us all, has weakened demand in Asia and particularly in China and, later in the quarter, has also affected development in Western countries. In the first quarter, however, coronavirus has not yet been reflected significantly in orders received, which were at the level of the corresponding period of the previous year (pro forma),” says Arto Metsänen, Glaston’s president and CEO. “Demand for insulating glass machines grew strongly, compensating for the weakness in demand for automotive glass machines that had already been evident for some time. Demand for heat treatment machines was nearly at the previous year’s level. Services were affected by travel restrictions and various countries’ national isolation measures, but our extensive service network and our investment in remote services supported the development of the product area, which was at a satisfactory level given the circumstances. With regard to projects included in the order book, so far we have only seen the postponement of individual deliveries. Ongoing discussions with customers do not indicate order cancellations, but the situation may change rapidly and we closely monitor the development of our order book. All of our production plants are operating normally and a large proportion of deliveries will be delivered as planned. The availability of components has also been secured for the coming months.”
No COVID-19 infections have been reported in Glaston’s facilities to date and many of the company’s employees have been working remotely.
“I would like to thank all Glaston employees for their resilience, flexibility and adaptation to the rapid change in operating practices,” says Metsänen.
Glaston’s Updated 2020 Outlook
Glaston Corp. estimates that comparable EBITA for 2020 will decline from the 2019 level. Due to low visibility and rapid market movements, the extent of the decline cannot be reliably assessed at this stage. The company’s current assessment is that orders received in the second and third quarters will be at a lower level than normal. The postponement of the delivery of some orders will impact the development of net sales and earnings in the near future. Exceptionally high uncertainty surrounds the assessments, and the situation might change very quickly.
On March 20, 2020, Glaston Corp. published a stock exchange release which stated that, due to the significant deterioration in the global financial situation following the COVID-19 situation and the rapid changes in the company’s business environment, Glaston was withdrawing its guidance issued on February 11, 2020 and that it was improbable that company’s comparable EBITA will grow in 2020.
*Editor’s Note: The financial results were converted from Euros to U.S. dollars on April 29, 2020.
