• Order intake reached EUR 62.0 million (1Q16: 56.6), an increase of 9.6% compared to previous year. 
• Order book increased 2.9% to EUR 112.1 million (1Q16: 108.9).
• Revenues totaled EUR 53.2 million, an increase of 15.5% compared to previous year (1Q16: 46.1).
• Operating result (EBIT) amounted to EUR 3.5 million (1Q16: -2.5), corresponding to a margin of 6.6%.
• Profit for the period was EUR 2.0 million. Earnings per share basic and diluted increased to EUR 0.025 (1Q16: -0.050)
• Operating cash flow was EUR -0.2 million (1Q16: -2.8).
• Net debt decreased 25.2% to EUR 23.7 million (1Q16: 31.6).

Comment from the CEO

A strong start to the year

The period was positive for Cavotec with large orders, which had previously been postponed, registered for our Ports & Maritime and Airports & Industry business units. These included innovative aircraft servicing systems for Dubai Airports' prestigious new hub airport, one of Cavotec's largest airport equipment projects to date. Order intake improved by 9.6 per cent for the first quarter compared with a year earlier.

The first quarter also marked a crucial new phase in the development of the Group, with the implementation of our five year Strategic Plan, and a new organisational structure, which is now based on two Business Units — Ports & Maritime and Airports & Industry — which have full P&L responsibilities, and that are backed up our new Supply Chain organisation encompassing our engineering, R&D and manufacturing activities.

Major orders for Ports & Maritime…

In February, we announced orders for our innovative systems for marine propulsion, shore power supply, and crane electrification systems, with a combined value of EUR 10 million. Orders that highlight the Group's pivotal position in the global high tech Ports & Maritime segment.

One of the largest of these orders — placed by a major crane manufacturer — was for motorised cable reels to power and control advanced rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGC) and Automatic Stacking Cranes (ASC) at two container terminals.

…and Airports

Also in February, we announced several Ground Support Equipment (GSE) orders for major airports in the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US, with a total value of EUR 11.5 million.

Included in these projects, Cavotec was awarded a turnkey GSE contract to design, supply, install, test, and commission Super Cool DX Pre-Conditioned Air (PCA) units at Dubai International Airport's new Concourse C development. The US projects included fuel hydrant systems for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and La Guardia Airport.

We are also supplying our latest Series 2500+ 400Hz converters and hatch pit systems to the VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering Hangar (VTMAE) at Pensacola International Airport in Florida.

In further positive news for the Airports & Industry Business Unit, in March we announced a breakthrough order for Pre Conditioned Air (PCA) and power supply technologies for Dubai's newest gateway airport, Al Maktoum International. This EUR 17.5 million order is one of the largest airport equipment projects in the Group's history. 

The systems will be installed at more than 60 remote aircraft parking positions and several Multiple Aircraft Ramp System (MARS) stands, where the equipment will service all types of aircraft, including wide body aircraft such as the Airbus A380. 

Cavotec welcomes Mikael Norin as new CEO

In February, we announced the appointment of my successor, Mikael Norin. With extensive global experience in a variety of sectors, Mikael is very well positioned to lead Cavotec into its next stage of growth and development. He will join Cavotec on May 1, 2017 and will, after a transition period, assume responsibility as CEO from July 1, 2017. He will be based at the company's headquarters in Lugano.

As for me, I will continue to serve on the Board of Cavotec SA as a non-executive director, and will pursue several other strategic assignments.

Planning for future growth

The Strategic Plan implemented on January 1, 2017 will enable us to focus on our strengths more effectively, and continue building a company ready to meet our strategic goals of the coming five years.

Cavotec's goals are to become a EUR 500 million global company by revenue, with an EBIT of more than 12 per cent by 2021. We will continue to focus on completing our transformation from an engineering and manufacturing company to a global system and solutions provider: a partner trusted for its worldwide operational and innovation excellence, thereby realising sustainable growth and creating shareholder value.

Looking ahead

With larger orders returning, our new organisational structure and strategic goals in place, and despite a soft overall economic outlook, I believe that Cavotec is well positioned for the future growth. 

I expect 2017 to be a transitional year, with signs of stabilisation emerging in some markets. The short-term outlook is, however, clouded by macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

At this stage, we are positive about 2017. We have a strong position today, and our ambition is to strengthen it by further improving our profitability.

ENDS

This is a summary of the 1Q17 published today. The complete 1Q17 report and full year summary with tables is available at http://investor.cavotec.com/results.cfm. Investors should not rely on summaries only, but should review the complete reports with tables.

For further details, please contact: 

Kristiina Leppänen
Group Chief Financial Officer & Investor Relations
Telephone: +41 91 911 40 11 — Email: investor@cavotec.com

The information in this release is subject to the disclosure requirements of Cavotec SA under the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. This information was publicly communicated on 3 May 2017, 12:00 CEST.