Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based steelmaker, Essar Steel Algoma reported a net loss of C$285.9 million (US$293.7 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 due to higher raw material pricing, primarily higher iron ore pellet prices. In fiscal Q4 2011, Essar Steel Algoma had a net loss of C$91.1 million (US$93.6 million), partially because of unplanned 23-day outage of the #7 blast furnace.
Profits fell dramatically in fiscal 2011 although steel shipments for the year were 2,387,000 tons, up 7.3 percent over fiscal 2010. In fiscal Q4 2011, shipments totaled 527,000 tons, down 24.5 percent over fiscal Q4 2010. Sales for the year rose substantially as well, jumping 25.5 percent to C$1.77 billion (US$1.82 billion) over fiscal 2010.