Seeking Alpha: Wärtsilä Down On Power ... For Now

These are challenging times for Wärtsilä (OTCPK:WRTBY) (WRT1V.HE), one of Finland's largest and oldest industrial companies. Orders for drillships, semi-submersibles, and supply ships have cratered alongside oil prices, and the demand for new cargo ships is hardly better. With that, the company's leading position in marine engines, automation, and propulsion doesn't look all that impressive. Likewise in the energy business, as emerging market orders for flexible baseload gensets has plunged on currency and commodity weakness.

It looks too early to be bullish on these shares, but I think this is a good time to get up-to-date with due diligence on companies like Wärtsilä. The company's biggest original equipment markets are weak, but the lucrative service business will help tide it over, and cyclical markets don't stay down forever. When demand for large ocean-going vessels and flexible electrical gensets recovers, Wärtsilä's niche leadership and operating leverage should serve investors well.

U.S. investors should note that Wärtsilä's ADRs are not especially liquid. Many brokers now support international trading, and there is more liquidity to be found buying these shares on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

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Wärtsilä Down On Power ... For Now