On May 7, Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2009.
Accordingly, the company reported a net income of Reais 35 million ($16.75 million) in the first quarter of 2009, down sharply by 96.8 percent from the net income of Reais 1.09 billion ($521 million) in the year-ago period, and down by 88.7 percent from the net income of Reais 311 million ($148.8 million) in the previous quarter.
The company's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) slumped to Reais 599 million ($286.57 million), down by 69.8 percent from Reais 1.985 billion ($950 million) in the first quarter of 2008, and down by 58.7 percent from 1.452 billion ($695 million) in the fourth quarter of 2008.
In the period in question Gerdau recorded crude steel production of 2.539 million mt, down by 50.4 percent compared to the year-ago period, and down by 22.2 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.
$1 = Reais 2.093