Germany-based steelmaker
Salzgitter Group has announced its financial results for the first quarter, stating that the situation in the European steel market remained tense at the beginning of this year. The persistent imbalance between supply and demand continues to put great pressure on margins. The market environment for steel products, also unfavorable outside the EU, combined with significant capacity underutilization in the large diameter tubes segment that eased only in April, determined the course of business in the first quarter.
In the quarter in question,
Salzgitter recorded a net loss of €13.3 million, down from €17.1 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, while the company's sales revenues amounted to €2.3 billion, down 147.6 percent year on year owing mainly to the downtrend in the trading and plate/section steel business units caused by lower volumes and selling prices.
During the given quarter, the company's crude steel production was 1.87 million mt, falling 51.5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013.
According to
Salzgitter, given the pressure on selling prices arising from the ongoing underutilization of capacities in the EU, the strip steel business unit expects business to remain difficult in 2014. In comparison with the financial year 2013, sales are anticipated around the same level, with somewhat of an improvement in a nonetheless negative pre-tax result. The plate/section steel business unit assumes declining sales compared with 2013, while predicting a significant reduction in the pre-tax loss at the same time.