Industrias CH (ICH), the largest special bar quality (SBQ) steel producer in North America and the leading structural steel producer in Mexico, presented an EBITDA of 738 million Mexican pesos in the third quarter of the current year, 17.4 percent higher that recorded in the same period last year, $629 million Mexican pesos (US$48.3 million).
This is a result of increased sales volume, a 5 percent boost in average selling prices, and lower selling and administrative expenses.
In its financial report sent to the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), the steel company said this was due to higher sales volume and exports, mainly to the United States. The company's sales totaled 8.1 billion Mexican pesos, (US$623 million) an increase of 18.5 percent compared to that reported in the third quarter of 2013, at 6.836 billion pesos (US$525 million).
Net income was 441 million Mexican pesos (US$33.9 million), a 15.1 percent increase reflecting lower production costs and cost efficiency.
The volume of sales in Mexico increased 5.1 percent, supported mainly by the strong performance of specialty steel in the automotive sector. Commercial steels used in the construction sector still showed significant contraction (down 46 percent) compared to the third quarter of 2013, however, it represented a recovery of 7.4 percent from the second quarter of 2014.