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This release is a summary of Glaston Corporation's Half-Year January-June 2020 financial report. The complete report is attached to this release as a pdf-file. The release is also available on the company's website at the address .

The half year financial report provides estimates on future prospects involving risk and uncertainty factors, and other factors as a result of which the performance, operation or achievements of Glaston may substantially deviate from the estimates. Forward-looking statements relating to future prospects are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the implementation of which depends on the future business environment and other circumstances, such as the development of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

APRIL–JUNE 2020 IN BRIEF

• Orders received totaled EUR 24.0 (44.5) million
• Net sales totaled EUR 48.9 (58.4) million
• Comparable EBITA was EUR 2.3 (3.6) million, i.e. 4.8 (6.2)% of net sales
• The operating result (EBIT) was EUR 0.6 (0.4) million
• The comparable operating result (EBIT) was EUR 1.2 (2.5) million, i.e. 2.5 (4.3)% of net sales    
• Items affecting comparability totaled EUR -0.7 (-2.1) million
• Comparable earnings per share were EUR -0.007 (0.005)
• Cash flow from operating activities was EUR -0.3 (-5.4) million

JANUARY–JUNE 2020 IN BRIEF

• Orders received totaled EUR 69.6 (67.4, pro forma 89.8) million
• Net sales totaled EUR 95.9 (79.2, pro forma 102.8) million
• Comparable EBITA was EUR 4.4 (4.2, pro forma 6.4) million, i.e. 4.6 (5.3, pro forma 6.2)% of net sales
• The operating result (EBIT) was EUR 0.7 (-0.3, pro forma 1.2) million
• The comparable operating result (EBIT) was EUR 2.1 (2.6, pro forma 4.1) million, i.e. 2.2 (3.3, pro forma 4.0)% of net sales
• Items affecting comparability totaled EUR -1.5 (-2.9, pro forma -2.9) million
• Comparable earnings per share were EUR 0.000 (-0.001)
• Cash flow from operating activities was EUR -3.4 (-3.7) million

GLASTON’S OUTLOOK FOR 2020 UNCHANGED

Glaston Corporation estimates that comparable EBITA for 2020 will decline from the 2019 level. The company’s current assessment is that the market will recover gradually and that third- and fourth-quarter orders will improve from the second quarter but stay below the previous year’s levels. The lower than 2019 order intake and slower than normal volume in services business impacts the development of net sales and earnings in 2020. The uncertainty surrounding the assessment remains, and the situation might change quickly depending on the development of the COVID-19 pandemic and the general economic climate.

 

ACTING PRESIDENT & CEO SASU KOIVUMÄKI:

The second quarter was clearly impacted by the pandemic – profitability supported by timely cost savings and employee flexibility  

“The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated in the Western countries at the beginning of the second quarter, severely impacting all areas of society and businesses. To Glaston this was evident in the significant decrease in orders across all businesses, and several orders expected in the second quarter were postponed due to market uncertainty. Although far from recovering, it seems we have passed the steepest decline, and the majority of second-quarter orders were in fact received in June. Although we have been impacted by the pandemic, and will continue to be so throughout the year, our continuous customer dialogue reassures me that several of the projects discussed earlier will ramp up once the situation has settled to some extent. No orders in the order book have been cancelled.

Throughout the pandemic, Glaston has been able to deliver all projects according to schedule. However, at the beginning of the quarter, a number of customers, mainly from the US, postponed project deliveries and installations due to the economic uncertainty and restrictions caused by the pandemic. These postponements have had a negative impact on our second-quarter net sales. Our Services sales were strongly impacted by travel restrictions, the containment measures of various countries and by the decreased or no production activity in customer operations. The low demand  in the automotive industry also continued to impact Services negatively. Although decreasing, our net sales remained at a reasonable level at EUR 48.9 million, compared to the peaking second quarter of 2019. Profitability was impacted by lower sales volumes and sales mix, but still held up rather well, thanks to clearly lower fixed costs from organizational streamlining and temporary lay-offs as well as lower than usual marketing and travelling costs. Also cost synergies from the Bystronic glass integration were clearly higher than a year ago at the start of the integration. I want to thank all our employees for their efforts, flexibility and efficiency in this difficult situation.

Due to the current crisis, the Emerging Technologies (ET) market was slow in the second quarter. ET provides consulting and engineering services to technology companies and helps them commercialize technologies in the glass industry while also creating new opportunities for Glaston’s equipment business. In the second quarter, ET started a consulting project with a technology company designing solutions integrating solar technology into buildings. During the first half of 2020, Heliotrope successfully raised additional funding from new investors, despite of the challenging environment.

Mitigating COVID-19 related near-term business disruptions has been high on our agenda throughout the spring and we have taken prompt action to safeguard the health and safety of our employees and the company’s financial stability. We have created tools that will enable us to adapt our operations quickly. In Finland, temporary lay-offs for all personnel flexibly continue throughout the year, and corresponding measures have also been implemented in Switzerland, the USA and the UK. We are constantly monitoring the development of the situation, our orders and order book, the company’s cash flow and liquidity, as well as government and other aid available in different countries.

We are pleased to see that the EU’s recovery strategy for the pandemic, and other support packages, involve investments in energy efficiency and digital solutions. Glaston offers an extensive portfolio of products and solutions answering to these needs.

Uncertainty in the market remains high. The lower than 2019 order intake and slower than normal volume in the Services business impacts the development of net sales and earnings in 2020. Currently, we estimate that new orders in the third and fourth quarter will increase from the second quarter levels. The postponement of the delivery of some orders will impact the development of net sales and earnings in the near future.”

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