By Joshua Kirby 
 

Andritz AG said Wednesday that earnings for 2020 rose on record revenue, and that it will propose a dividend of 1 euro ($1.21) a share for the year.

The Austrian plant-engineering company booked net profit of 203.7 million euros ($246.3 million), up 66% from EUR122.8 million in 2019, when its earnings fell on-year amid restructuring. Earnings before interest, taxes and amortization, a preferred metric for the company, came to EUR391.7 million, up 14%.

Revenue for the year came to EUR6.7 billion, a record high for Andritz and up slightly on year.

The company had previously said it expected to book 2020 revenue slightly lower than 2019 revenue. Processing of large-scale orders in the pulp & paper business drove performance, making up for lower revenue in other segments, it said.

Andritz said it will propose a dividend of EUR1 a share for 2020, representing a payout ratio close to 50%.

For 2021, the company expects revenue to fall slightly from 2020's level amid lower orders, while Ebita should remain stable. The company said macro-economic issues such as a possible intensification of the coronavirus pandemic could affect performance and entail a revision of this guidance.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@dowjones.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 03, 2021 02:19 ET (07:19 GMT)