Swiss-based special steel producer and distributor Schmolz+Bickenbach has announced its financial results for the first quarter of the current year.
In the first quarter, Schmolz+Bickenbach recorded a net profit of €16.5 million compared to a net loss of €24.4 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. In the first quarter, the company’s sales revenues increased by 17.2 percent to €707.6 million, due to higher volumes and significantly higher average sales prices, while its sales volume amounted to 489,000 mt, up 6.1 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
According to Schmolz+Bickenbach’s statement, 2017 started on a positive note as the better market environment observed in late 2016 continued to develop favorably in the first three months. After a steep decline in the last two years, demand returned to normal levels. In parallel with higher demand and raw material prices, sales prices continued to recover. The company expects that the positive trend of the first quarter with a normalization of demand will continue until mid-year thanks to the robust order backlog; however, the outlook for the second half of the year remains largely uncertain as political and macroeconomic risks remain.