Review by the President and CEO
Vaisala’s President and CEO Kai Öistämö
“We concluded the year 2024 on a very high note. Despite global challenges marked by increasing geopolitical tensions and business uncertainty, both our business areas showed good growth and profitability. We entered 2025 with a strong EUR 215 million order book.
In Q4, our order intake remained steady compared to the previous year. The demand increased for Industrial Measurements and continued strong in Weather and Environment. Our Q4 net sales grew by 14%, reflecting our strong order book with large project orders, continued growth of subscription sales, as well as success in year-end deliveries. The gross margin improved following the growth in net sales and a favorable sales mix.
Our full-year order intake increased by 7%, and net sales rose by 4%. After a slow start of the year, we saw gradual improvement in the market demand in Industrial Measurements during the year. In Weather and Environment, the demand was strong throughout the year. Furthermore, our operating result margin improved to 15% as a result of the growth in net sales, improved gross margin, and successful cost management.
Throughout the year, we focused on executing our strategic priorities. In Weather and Environment, we built upon our global leadership in weather systems through key customer deals, such as the delivery of weather radars to the State Meteorological Agency of Spain. We significantly improved profitability in the traditional weather business and continued to organically grow our subscription sales. Additionally, we acquired Speedwell Climate and Maxar’s WeatherDesk to build Vaisala Xweather’s position as a weather intelligence partner for insurance and finance customers, as well as Nevis Technology to expand our offering in the offshore wind market. In Industrial Measurements, we launched several new products and were able to hold our strong market position globally despite the challenging year.
Q4 also concluded our three-year strategy period with long-term financial targets of average 7% net sales growth and an EBIT margin of 15%. Despite these three years being marked by uncertainty in multiple areas, our team showed resilience and commitment throughout the period. A warm thank you to all Vaisala employees and our partners for making this happen.
Towards the end of the year, we also announced changes in the Vaisala Leadership Team. As of January 2025, Samuli Hänninen joined the Vaisala Leadership Team and continues to lead the Xweather business, Anne Jalkala started leading the Weather, Energy and Environment business, and Jarkko Sairanen the Industrial Measurements business. Lorenzo Gulli joined the company to lead strategy and M&A. Sampsa Lahtinen retired after an impressive decade of successfully growing the Industrial Measurements business.
As we step into 2025, we expect uncertainty in the market environment to continue, with increased risk of further geopolitical tensions and trade barriers. Excluding potential significant changes in market conditions, we estimate our full-year 2025 net sales will be in the range of EUR 590–620 million and EBITA in the range of EUR 90–105 million.”
Financial Statement Release January-December 2024, February 18, 2025.