Finnish machinery company Metso has officially concluded its waste-to-energy business and resolved the associated legal disputes concerning historic projects. As a result, the company will record a one-off expense of $275 million in the July-September financial results of its discontinued operations.
The total cash flow impact of this expense in 2024, considering existing provisions, amounts to around $290 million.
The waste-to-energy business has been classified as part of discontinued operations within Outotec since December 2019 and within Metso following the merger of Metso Minerals and Outotec in 2020.
By ending the business and settling legal disputes, Metso has fulfilled its obligations under delivery contracts related to orders received by Outotec in 2015.
The difficulties surrounding these deliveries first surfaced in 2019, before the Metso Minerals and Outotec merger.
The uncertainties tied to the waste-to-energy business were factored into the merger exchange ratio during deliberations in 2019. Since the merger, Metso has regularly noted in its financial statements and interim reports the risks linked to these legacy waste-to-energy projects.
The company last reported in February 2023 that three projects remained involved in legal proceedings, which have now been fully resolved.
