Finnish mining technology company Outotec expects order intake from Iran to slow after U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to reimpose sanctions on Tehran, the company’s finance chief said on Thursday.
Outotec, which builds plants, makes equipment and offers services for the metal and mineral processing industries, has a long history in Iran and remained in the market after the United States instituted sanctions against Tehran in 2010.
CFO Jari Algars told Reuters by email that, if project financing was not available, future orders would decline:
“Reinstating the sanctions would not stop business, but it will complicate it and slow it down.”
Asked if Outotec was considering leaving the market, Algars said it was “too early to say”.
During the sanctions, Outotec made so-called “stop and go” deals in Iran, where it was paid in increments and delivered accordingly, Algars said.
He said that business started to normalise after the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, helping Outotec to book orders from National Iranian Copper Industries Company (NICICO) and Iran International Engineering Company (IRITEC).
Algars did not disclose the volume of Outotec’s business in Iran but said it did not represent a significant share of Outotec’s total global sales of about 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion).
Deliveries already announced are proceeding as planned and Outotec expects to complete them in the near future, Algars said.
NICICO’s order is for two sulphuric acid plants for copper smelters with a value of around 50 million euros while IRITEC ordered process technology, worth 45 million euros, for an iron ore beneficiation plant. ($1 = 0.8414 euros) (Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Source » reuters