Hi everyone, since CEO Svensson’s departure transition period is long (exit is only on 19.7.25), I don’t think there’s any drama associated with the departure; it’s a normal CEO change process. It’s somewhat regrettable for Konecranes, as Svensson has only been in the position for two years, and the work has been good. Regards, Eki
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Juha Varis’s "Fenno+" account also tweeted about the CEO’s departure. 
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Hexagon released this announcement. So that’s where he moved.
The Hexagon Board of Directors has appointed Anders Svensson as President and CEO. Anders Svensson will take office on 20 July 2025 at the latest, succeeding Norbert Hanke, who will continue as interim President and CEO until then.
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Here is a fresh PRESS release about an order received by Konecranes.
The value of the order is not disclosed.
Pilbara Ports, operating in Western Australia, has ordered two mobile ESP.9 Gottwald harbour cranes from Konecranes for the Port of Port Hedland, which is the world’s largest bulk cargo export port by cargo volume. The cranes were ordered in the last quarter of 2024 and are scheduled for delivery to Pilbara Ports’ Lumsden Point in 2026.
The Port of Port Hedland handled over 570 million tonnes of cargo in the 2023-24 financial year. As trade in the Pilbara region is projected to grow, the development of Lumsden Point is a key part of the plan to increase the port’s capacity.
These 200-tonne lifting capacity mobile ESP.9 Konecranes Gottwald harbour cranes will significantly enhance the port’s capabilities to handle container and project cargo. This, in turn, will alleviate increasing port congestion and diversify trade. Each crane features a 100-meter cable reel for an external power supply, enabling Pilbara Ports to improve energy efficiency and significantly reduce site exhaust and noise emissions.
“Mobile harbour cranes are a critical component of the Lumsden Point development, facilitating the export of battery metals and the import of renewable energy infrastructure. They also support increased direct shipping services in the Pilbara,” says John Freimanis, Project Director for Lumsden Point at Pilbara Ports.
“Konecranes’ customer focus and reliable performance impressed us during the tender process. It’s great that Pilbara Ports can tailor this highly efficient infrastructure to the unique needs of Port Hedland in collaboration with Konecranes.”
The cranes’ Tandem-lift Assistant improves safety and precision when handling heavy or large loads with both cranes. Performance is ensured by a combination of a condition-based maintenance system, Konecranes TRUCONNECT remote monitoring, and a readily available spare parts package.
“Our material handling equipment is once again trusted to support a key node for the global economy. It is a great honour for Konecranes that the world’s largest bulk cargo export port authority has chosen us to support them. It is great that we can help Pilbara Ports achieve its productivity and sustainability goals,” says Holger Wagner, Regional Sales Manager at Konecranes.
This agreement is part of the Ecolifting™ vision, through which Konecranes aims to increase the positive environmental impact of its products and services and reduce customers’ carbon footprint. We will continue to do more with less, for example, by optimizing the environmental efficiency of diesel-powered equipment and promoting hybridization and the use of fully electric fleets.
A strong customer focus and commitment to business growth and continuous development make Konecranes a leader in the material handling industry. This is supported by investments in digitalization and technology, as well as our work to streamline material flows with solutions that reduce carbon emissions and promote circular economy and safety.
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Here are Eki’s pre-comments for Konecranes’ Q4 report on Friday.
Based on the analyst call preceding the quiet period, Q4 numbers should be reasonable, even though macro indicators show a slight softening. The 2025 guidance to be given likely points to stable or slightly improving development. The stock’s valuation indicates a nice upside.
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- Order intake EUR 1,166.5 million (926.0), +26.0 percent (+25.9 percent on a comparable currency basis), order intake increased in Service, Industrial Equipment and Port Solutions
- Service annual agreement base value EUR 342.5 million (318.3), +7.6 percent (+6.3 percent on a comparable currency basis)
- Order book EUR 2,888.4 million (3,040.8) at the end of December, -5.0 percent (-6.1 percent on a comparable currency basis)
- Sales EUR 1,212.5 million (1,148.9), +5.5 percent (+5.4 percent on a comparable currency basis), sales increased in all segments
- Comparable EBITA margin 13.2 percent (11.7) and comparable EBITA EUR 159.5 million (133.8); the increase in the comparable EBITA margin was mainly driven by higher volumes and pricing, as well as good strategy execution.
- Operating profit EUR 146.4 million (121.6), 12.1 percent of sales (10.6)
- Earnings per share (diluted) EUR 1.36 (1.21)
- Free cash flow EUR 169.9 million (166.8)
If I’m not mistaken, Eki’s forecasts were exceeded in revenue, profit, and order intake.
- The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of EUR 1.65 (1.35) per share for 2024
However, for the dividend, Inderes’ expectation was EUR 1.85.
A steady outlook is forecast.
DEMAND OUTLOOK
Our demand environment within industrial customer segments has remained good and continues on a healthy level. Global container throughput continues on a high level, and long-term prospects related to global container handling remain good overall.
FINANCIAL GUIDANCE
Konecranes expects net sales to remain approximately on the same level in 2025 compared to 2024. Konecranes expects the full-year 2025 comparable EBITA margin to remain approximately on the same level or to improve from 2024.
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Here are also Eki’s quick comments on Konecranes’ Q4 results.
Konecranes’ Q4 report was mixed in terms of figures. The strongest development was seen in order intake, but margins were slightly below our own expectations at least. The dividend was also a disappointment for us. The 2025 guidance was roughly in line with expectations. Thanks to the order intake, the share price reaction is likely to be at least slightly positive.
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Here is Sijoittaja.fi’s analysis of Konecranes; the rest is behind a paywall.
Konecranes’ received orders saw a significant improvement both compared to the previous quarter and the reference period. Received orders amounted to EUR 1,166.5 million, an increase of 26.0% from the reference period.
The company’s order book level improved slightly from the previous quarter’s level, but still significantly fell short of the reference period’s EUR 3,041 million figure. The order book at the end of the year was EUR 2,888.4 million, a decrease of -5.0% from the previous year.
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Here is a brand new Konecranes company report from Erkki Vesola.
Konecranes’ Q4 report was mixed relative to expectations in terms of figures. The 2025 market outlook comments and guidance were in line with expectations, i.e., neutral to slightly positive. Our forecast changes for 2025-2026 are minor. This factor, along with the relatively stable share price in recent months, keeps the stock’s valuation attractive when examined by various metrics.
Quoted from the report:
Our forecast changes for 2025-2026 are minor. After the 2024 comparison year figures were clarified, our revenue forecasts have slightly increased, but growth percentages remain almost unchanged. As Q4’24 margins fell short of our estimates, we have cut our 2025-2026 EBITA margin expectations to 13.3% (previously 13.8%) and 13.6% (13.9%).
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Ilkka Sinervä wrote about Konecranes’ competitor Columbus McKinnon, and the article naturally also discusses Konecranes. Hannu Angervuo was quoted in the article.
Thus, the market value of the American merged company rises to 1.6 times its revenue, and Konecranes’ to 1.15 times, meaning its market value remains one-third cheaper than its American competitor in relation to revenues based on 12-month financial statement data.
According to Angervuo, the multiples simultaneously reflect the cheapness of Konecranes’ share price.
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I contacted Konecranes’ investor relations director about today’s stock price collapse and the pre-silent call. According to him, nothing new was mentioned in the pre-silent call. I am also currently listening to the recording of the pre-silent call. The CFO, at least, assured during the call that demand looks good. So figure out why the stock price dropped 10% today (considering the ex-dividend date).
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Well, analysts found reasons to lower forecasts, especially for H1. Surely, this is something new then. For example, that the beginning of the year isn’t as strong, but the results are more weighted towards H2? If nothing relevant is said there, then why even hold a briefing?
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A short summary from the first minutes of Konecranes’ pre-silent call was written to me, as the recording had been forgotten to be turned on.
Message summarized: US demand shows signs of weakening from a strong level, but at the same time, Europe shows signs of strengthening demand. This had already been mentioned in the financial statements.
I suspect that caused the stock price to fall, as the price started declining right after the first minutes of the call.
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Hello!
Konecranes’ pre-silent call seems to be of interest here. We have already organized an open pre-silent call at the end of several quarters. Anyone is welcome to participate in the call, but registration is required in advance. The time of the call is published in the calendar on our investor pages weeks in advance.
We organize a pre-silent call at the end of each quarter. We do not analyze in advance whether we have something “new” or “material” to say or not, but the call is organized primarily because we believe it increases transparency and improves dialogue between the company, analysts, and investors (including private investors). The call is, above all, a common opportunity for everyone to ask us questions before our silent period begins. Similarly, the call is a good opportunity to remind, for example, of items that deviated from normal in comparison periods or one-off events, as these have sometimes been forgotten by both investors and analysts. We do not organize separate pre-silent calls in addition to this one.
At the beginning of the call, we present a summary of the stock exchange releases and press releases published during the quarter, and after that, we remind the audience of our demand outlook and financial guidance, which have already been disclosed in connection with the previous interim report. If we needed to change our demand outlook or guidance, it would be done via a stock exchange release, not during a pre-silent call.
A recording of today’s pre-silent call is available on Konecranes’ investor pages, and the content of the call is in line with what we have communicated in connection with and after the Q4 results.
We do not comment on analysts’ views or share price reactions – each analyst prepares their own forecasts independently, and investors, in turn, make their own investment decisions based on the available material and/or their own analysis. A lot is happening in the world right now, and there is certainly more general uncertainty in the air than perhaps ever before.
Best regards,
Kiira / Konecranes IR
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It’s great that the company itself is participating in the discussion!
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Is there a reason why these cannot be held as a webcast? I’ve also heard the justification that private investors are not wanted there to ask ‘stupid questions’ (though phrased differently). That’s why many companies only put these on the calendar (the best is when one company only put it on the English calendar). Invitations are often sent to specific investors and analysts. You can see from the attendance numbers at these events that it’s mostly the usual faces. Then again, webcast events tend to have a bit more people.
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In the recording, there’s a slide about guidance at the beginning. A clarification is given that the beginning of this year is relatively less strong than in the past couple of years. I, for one, would have immediately sold shares based on these comments. Apparently, someone else (in addition to the analyst comment) thought the same, as the stock fell 8% (12% for the whole day, but of course, a 2.4% dividend was also detached). Additionally, some extra color was given on the demand situation. I didn’t consider them very significant, but on the other hand, all comments on demand between quarters can theoretically affect the stock, as even the management doesn’t know market expectations precisely.
This brings to mind that since the annual general meeting was held the day before, couldn’t these comments have been given there? The CEO gave an overview https://konecranes.videosync.fi/agm2025-ceo-presentation?language=fi
I also believe that the market reacts to things far too short-sightedly and sensitively. The fact that sales this year are weighted towards the end of the year might even seem like a completely trivial comment to most investors. However, the closer the forecast, the more accurate the predictions. Now some are thinking that H1 is weaker than what is in the forecasts, and H2 could thus be even stronger than thought. But there’s a longer time until then, and complications can arise. When the stock is strong, I don’t find such short-sightedness surprising at all. I have quite a lot of experience with reactions to news. Of course, I’m often wrong too. Now I (unfortunately) bought shares, thinking that nothing revolutionary could have come from there, but admittedly, that webcast made me wonder if Q1 will be a positive surprise unless forecasts are clearly lowered first.
- The FSA (Financial Supervisory Authority) drew attention to these pre-silent events. That’s why you stopped holding them for a while. During that time, you held individual pre-silent meetings for investors, which I also attended. As a concept, it felt a bit peculiar, and mainly for that reason, I wanted to participate. It did cross my mind that probably some of the people met the CFO and not just IR. CFOs are often not as precise with their words. In itself, even some kind of participation opportunity is positive compared to the most dreadful form, where analysts are called one by one to suggest that forecasts might need to be lowered a bit (this has still happened in Sweden in recent years).
In my opinion, everything affecting the stock should be communicated. A good intermediate solution would be for the meetings to be genuinely open, prominently announced, and to have an open webcast. There are probably even ways to silence unwanted speakers. For example, Inderes has excellent products for organizing webcasts. It would also reduce everyone’s work if the hassle of searching and registering could be forgotten.
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Hi!
Thank you for your long message. As it contains so many incorrect statements, I feel it is important to respond to your message in the middle of a sunny Saturday afternoon to avoid general misunderstandings.
Konecranes always organizes a webcast in connection with the earnings release. In addition, webcasts have also been organized in connection with special events, e.g., the appointment of a CEO. Pre-silent calls have been decided to be held in Teams purely for cost and efficiency reasons. A webcast costs several thousand euros, and even companies that perform well are careful about costs.
We publish the date of the pre-silent call well in advance on our investor pages, and registration for the call is possible from the moment of publication. Analysts and some investors tend to start calling a couple of weeks before the end of the quarter and asking about the pre-silent. In such cases, we have usually sent a joint message to sell-side analysts, reminding them that the pre-silent will be held on day x and to remember to register.
You stated that at some point we stopped holding pre-silent events. I have been working in Konecranes’ investor relations for almost seven years, and during this time, Konecranes has only organized a separate, joint closed pre-silent call for sell-side analysts once, and that was due to scheduling reasons. On that day, the share price did not fluctuate in any direction. We have also not sent invitations to separate pre-silent calls to anyone, but if an investor or analyst has contacted us, we have reserved time for them and discussed with them. This was also the case with you. You contacted us and asked about the pre-silent, and we told you that we do not usually organize a pre-silent call, but that we would certainly arrange a separate call for you if you had questions and wanted to discuss with us. We reserved half an hour for the Teams discussion, and if I remember correctly, we did not use the entire time.
After FIVA took a stand on pre-silent calls, we changed our practice and started organizing a so-called official, joint pre-silent call for everyone, in which our CFO also participates. Still, if investors (both private and “large investors”) or analysts have questions for us, we make time for them and answer their calls and questions to the best of our ability and in the same way for everyone. That is the work for which the IR team is paid.
To avoid any misunderstanding about the content of yesterday’s pre-silent call, we have already discussed the change in the geographical demand environment (signs of weakening in North America/revival in Europe) in connection with the Q4 results. Similarly, we have long commented that the seasonality of revenue and thus profit during fiscal years 2023 and 2024 is not Konecranes’ historical “normal.” These are not new comments or new information. At the Annual General Meeting, on the other hand, the uncertainty of the demand environment and macroeconomic concerns, as well as tariffs, were discussed, but it was still stated that the demand environment has remained at a good level. This same message was reiterated yesterday.
And finally: Inderes (and many other operators) certainly have tools for absolutely everything, and they have also been marketed to us, but the price tag has so far been such that we have stuck to Teams, which is an easy, efficient, and low-threshold tool for us. However, we are always happy to receive feedback and hope for active participation in all the events we organize.
Instead of making various claims on the discussion forum, I encourage you to pick up the phone and contact me. My contact information can be found in the Konecranes investor section, and I am always happy to help all investors and analysts, regardless of the size of their Konecranes position. Unfortunately, I cannot follow the discussion about Konecranes everywhere, but if I notice incorrect information, I try to correct it whenever possible. I usually answer phone calls and emails as quickly as possible. And if the event search feels demanding, you can also subscribe to the Konecranes IR newsletter from our investor pages, which you will receive directly in your email at least once a quarter.
I will now conclude the discussion on this topic on this forum on my part, and I encourage everyone to contact us directly if and when they have questions.
Have a sunny Saturday evening!
Best regards, Kiira / Konecranes IR
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I wrote the previous answer on my phone a bit hastily. Apologies that it seemed too much like it was written against your company. However, I can assure you that I am generally against this pre-silence practice. Like many other private investors who believe in the democratization of information and the equality of investors of different sizes regarding access to information.
The fact that Konecranes had its biggest ever decline day on Friday, excluding the corona crisis and the tech bubble, could be entirely coincidental with the pre-silent call. It could very well be that someone misunderstood something, as the sharp decline started after the call began. It is still awkward, even if no laws were broken. I myself have even benefited financially before, because sometimes there are actual earning opportunities in these, even though it shouldn’t be possible.
What is perhaps a problem for me is that this pattern repeats a bit too often. Not at Konecranes, but with companies in general. The stock falls/rises due to things said in the call - whether someone else thinks there’s a reason or not. It is not very easy for private investors to hunt for the dates of pre-silent events in calendars. It can be said that, in theory, there is a possibility to get in, but hardly any small shareholders are seen there. It is very difficult to determine what information affects the stock price. Companies and investors may have a different view on this. For this reason, the easiest way is to publish clearer guidelines with justifications in press releases. Or alternatively, to inform about these calls and make participation easier. Perhaps this is a discussion that should be held in another thread.
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So, do you think it’s better for everyone interested in Konecranes and these matters to call you directly, or for you to actively inform everyone here, where the message would reach a much wider audience?
Just out of curiosity, where all do you follow the discussion?
On Twitter (which is by far the most popular investment social media platform), you seemed to have an account, but there are no posts there. The Konecranes account, on the other hand, only has your publications, no actual discussions where you have answered questions.
So, which platforms do you follow and where all do you participate in discussions (and with which accounts)?
Would it be possible to also use, for example, Twitter (X) to communicate these times? If I had to guess, very few people stalk your investor calendar.
What about that cloudy Friday, would it have been a better day to comment promptly during office hours? One would imagine that the IR department would have time to comment when half a billion of a multi-billion euro company’s market value vanishes into thin air?
What if you just did a YouTube livestream, it shouldn’t be very expensive? Those who want to ask questions can register and join via Teams?
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In your opinion, was sharing information that cost shareholders half a billion and ~10% of market cap not worth holding a €2000 webcast? Quite a bargain.
One might as well run IR directly with Mark Leonard’s Constellation Software playbook, skip the small-circle Teams calls, and save the money that would go to the IR team.
At least different market participants would receive equal treatment.
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Pre-silent calls are often discussed in a negative light, but in this case, I see a clear positive step forward: The company has started holding open, public pre-silent calls for everyone, which enables more equitable and up-to-date information dissemination.
I find public and open pre-silent calls very useful because they allow for discussions on various company-related matters and deepen understanding of the company’s business. In investor calls on earnings days, the focus is usually quite strictly on the results of the past quarter. Pre-silent calls offer another opportunity per quarter to discuss with management – and usually, the discussion is more background-oriented and meandering, which I think is a good thing.
Based on this discussion, it sounds like some investors haven’t yet discovered these public pre-silent calls. I recommend subscribing to email notifications from your most important portfolio companies to easily stay up-to-date with their investor communications! We analysts also often write summaries based on the pre-silent calls held by companies.
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