On March 29, Brazilian integrated flat steel maker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) announced its financial results for the financial year 2008. CSN's net profit soared more than seven-fold in the fourth quarter of 2008, especially boosted by the sale of a part of its iron ore mining subsidiary Namisa.
Accordingly, CSN posted a record net revenue of Brazilian Reais 14.0 billion ($6.04 billion) in 2008, 22 percent up compared to the previous year. In the fourth quarter of FY 2008, the company's net revenue was at Reais 3.4 billion ($1.466 billion), 12 percent more than in Q4 2007.
CSN's EBITDA amounted to Reais 6.6 billion ($2.85 billion) in FY 2008, 35 percent higher than in FY 2007, while Q4 EBITDA reached Reais 1.5 billion ($647 million), with a 20 percent year-on-year improvement.
In FY 2008, the company reported annual net income of Reais 5.8 billion ($2.50 billion), virtually double the Reais 2.9 billion ($1.25 billion) in 2007. Q4 net income stood at Reais 3.9 billion ($1.68 billion), which is also a historical record and more than seven times the amount of Reais 508 million ($219 million) reported in the year-ago period.