Finland-based steelmaker Ruukki has issued its financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2013, reporting an operating profit of €8 million in the fourth quarter, compared to an operating loss of €34 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Net sales revenues in the given quarter amounted to €590 million, decreasing by 6.9 percent year on year. The company's order intake decreased by eight percent to €574 million in the given period, compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year.
In 2013, Ruukki registered an operating profit of €39 million, compared to an operating loss of €50 million in the previous year. In the given period, the company's sales revenues amounted to €2.4 billion, down 7.4 percent year on year, while the order intake decreased by nine percent year on year to €2.4 billion.
According to Ruukki, demand for steel is forecast to grow by around three percent across the EU in 2014. This pick-up in demand is expected to impact on inventory levels of steel wholesalers in Europe which, at the end of the report period, were still at a lower level than a year earlier. Inventory restocking and a pick-up in demand are expected to raise steel prices slightly during the first quarter of 2014. Nevertheless, growth in steel demand is still hampered by overcapacity in the steel markets, slowing economic growth in emerging countries and the debt problems of EU countries.
Demand for special steels is expected to clearly outperform demand for standard products, especially in market areas outside Europe. Long-continued weakened demand from the mining industry equipment manufacturers is expected to improve during the second half of 2014. The most important growth areas for special steels are the Americas, several countries in Asia and, in Europe, Turkey.