The quarrying and mining equipment and linked technology solutions giant's encouraging trading came after the firm recovered demand, especially for its aggregates business, while also benefiting from cost savings derived from last year's company-establishing merger of Metso Minerals and Finnish mining firm Outotec.
Metso Outotec said its operating profit rose to €91mn (US$109 million) from €68mn in Q1 2020.
"Our orders received increased 2% during the quarter [to €1,102mn], which was largely driven by strong demand in the aggregates market. In addition, both the Minerals and Metals segments have seen overall customer activity improving," the firm said in a statement released today (Friday 23 April).
The aggregates unit, which offers products like crushers, screeners, feeders, and conveyors, saw its quarterly operating profit jumping to €33mn from €13mn a year earlier.
"Customer activity in the equipment business was strong during the quarter. The most active market area was Europe, with strong growth also in North America," it said in a statement.
Metso Outotec expects the market activity to improve during the rest of 2021, subject to the development of the Covid-19 pandemic.
