Metso's current President and CEO, Pekka Vauramo, will continue with the Finnish global quarrying and mining equipment major as per his contract until the end of 2024, ensuring a smooth transition of responsibilities.
Takaluoma has been with Metso since 1997 and has led Metso's Services business area since 2021. He has been a member of Metso's Leadership Team since 2017.
Kari Stadigh, chair of Metso's Board of Directors, on behalf of the Board, emphasised Sami Takaluoma's extensive experience with Metso's businesses and customer industries in their selection. "Sami has done an excellent job in leading the businesses and as a member of the Leadership Team over the past seven years. Under his leadership, Metso's services and consumables businesses have grown and created significant value, especially after the merger of Metso and Outotec. The Board is convinced that Sami is the right choice to lead Metso into its next phase.
"On behalf of the entire Board, I would also like to extend our thanks to Pekka Vauramo, who is now stepping down from his role as President and CEO of Metso as earlier agreed. Under Pekka's leadership, Metso has evolved into an even stronger company, with a significantly enhanced culture and improved customer satisfaction, and its profitability has been clearly raised to a new level. We wish Pekka all the best and success in his new phase of life."
Takaluoma said: "I would like to warmly thank the Board for the opportunity to lead this great company. Having had the privilege of working for Metso for 27 years, I can confidently say that I know the company and understand our potential. With Metso's long history and strong foundation in the aggregates and mining markets, we are excellently positioned to achieve industry leadership. I eagerly anticipate embarking on this journey to deliver even greater value to our customers and stakeholders, alongside my talented and dedicated colleagues."
Vauramo said: "I want to thank all my colleagues and Metso's Board for the past six years. We have achieved a lot, and the company is in a strong position to succeed in the future. I wish Sami and all Metsonites best of luck and continued success for the years ahead."
Metso also published today its Q3 2024 and January 1 to September 30 results. Overall market activity in Q3 remained at the previous quarter's level; a few large mining projects were initiated. Orders received increased 3% to €1,226 million (€1,191 million Q3 2023); equipment +9% and services -1%. Sales declined 12% to €1,160 million (€1,319 million); equipment -20% and services -5%. Orders received in the first nine months of 2024 declined 7% to €3,749 million (€4,020 million). Sales declined 11% to €3,591 million (€4,049 million).
Commenting on the trading results, Pekka Vauramo said: "Lower order intake in previous periods resulted in a decline in the Group's sales. However, our dedicated efforts to improve profitability over the past years are reflected in the resilient adjusted EBITA margin of 16.9 percent.
"During the quarter, a couple of large mining projects progressed as expected, and we booked approximately €170 million worth of new equipment orders related to these projects. As a result, orders in the Minerals segment grew by 5 percent, and total orders for the Group increased by 3 percent compared to the same period last year. The Minerals segment's services orders also grew when excluding the impact of currency fluctuations. In the Aggregates segment, demand remained subdued, and orders were slightly below the comparison period.
Sales in the Aggregates segment decreased by eight percent from the comparison period. Nevertheless, the segment's adjusted EBITA margin remained robust at 16.1 percent. In the Minerals segment, sales decreased by 13 percent from the previous year, while the segment's profitability remained strong, with an adjusted EBITA margin rising to 18.3 percent of sales."
Vauramo noted that during the third quarter of this year, Metso continued to be active with bolt-on acquisitions, signing agreements to acquire Jindex, as well as Diamond Z and Screen Machine Industries. Jindex is a valve and process flow control specialist, and it will further strengthen Metso's capacity to provide more comprehensive slurry handling solutions for the mining industry. The acquisition of Diamond Z enhances Metso's mobile aggregates equipment offerings for the infrastructure recycling markets, while Screen Machine Industries expands the company's portfolio in the North American mobile crushing and screening markets.
In early October, Metso also agreed to acquire the remaining shares of its long-term partner, Swiss Tower Mills Minerals AG (STM), in which the company previously held a 15% minority stake. This acquisition represents an investment in energy-efficient comminution technology; vertical grinding mill solutions is a segment, Vauramo emphasised, with "promising future trends".
He continued: "Moving forward, we expect market activity to remain stable in the short term. In Aggregates, the North American mobile equipment market continues to be challenging. In the Minerals segment, we expect the activity related to copper to gradually improve."
Metso expects that the market activity in both Minerals and Aggregates will remain at the current level.
