Ponsse reports strong financial results for 2022 considering the impacts of the sanctions imposed on Russia.
For Ponsse, 2022 started driven by strong order books, and the market situation looked good. In the previous year, Russia had grown into the world’s largest market for cut-to-length forest machines, also being the largest export market for Ponsse. The situation changed dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The sanctions imposed by the EU and the withdrawal of western companies quickly froze Russia’s forest machine market. The war had an extensive impact on Ponsse’s business operations.
All exports of forest machines and their spare parts to Russia and Belarus were stopped immediately at the beginning of March. While the decision was correct and the only possible course of action, operations in Russia accounted for a fifth of Ponsse Group’s net sales and a third of its operating profit. In the end, the company’s order flow was relatively good during the year at roughly EUR 796 million.
During the final quarter of the year, the forest machine market calmed down slightly, while Ponsse’s order flow was roughly EUR 213 million despite the situation. As the availability of parts improved, the factory caught up with its schedules, and Ponsse were able to effectively deliver machines to their customers. Net sales were EUR 224.6 million, driven by the delivery of new machines and the good situation in maintenance.
In 2022, Ponsse launched new products and services at a quick pace. The most significant launches were the Ponsse Mammoth, the latest addition to the forwarder range with its 25-tonne capacity, the Ponsse Scorpion Giant, being the new harvester model, the Ponsse H8 harvester head, and a large number of new maintenance service solutions. New product features seek to make operators’ work easier and improve ergonomics. These included the cabin suspension system Ponsse Active Cabin, the rotating Ponsse Active Seat, and the Ponsse Manager Satellite, which enables satellite connections in forest machines. Ponsse also took their first step towards electric forest machines. The fully electric powertrain of Ponsse EV1, a technological forwarder concept, has been developed with their technology company Epec.
Consolidated net sales for the period under review amounted to EUR 755.1 (608.3) million, which is 24.1 per cent more than in the comparison period. International business operations accounted for 79.1 (75.9) per cent of net sales. Net sales were regionally distributed as follows: Northern Europe 38.0 (41.0) per cent, Central and Southern Europe 21.4 (22.4) per cent, North and South America 36.5 (31.9) per cent and other countries 4.0 (4.6) per cent. Source