Severstal North America almost breaks even at operating profit level in Q2

Monday, 06 September 2010 17:00:18 (GMT+2)

The Russian steel producer Severstal has announced that in Q2 2010 its North American operations almost broke even at the operating profit level with a $1 million net loss, compared to a net loss of $138 million in Q1 2010. 

Severstal North America's Q2 2010 revenue was up 23.7 percent quarter on quarter to $1.447 billion, while its EBITDA increased to a positive $59 million from a negative $83 million in Q1 2010. This reflected a more positive trading environment with sales volumes up 14 percent and prices up 8.4 percent both on quarter-on-quarter basis, combined with the benefits of the on-going restructuring of its operations.

"In North America, our priority continues to be to ensure that our assets are properly configured for a more flexible and efficient cost base, to exploit attractive opportunities with the right product mix and to better serve our customers in all market segments," reads Severstal's statement, adding that it continues to improve efficiency through modernization at Dearborn and expansion at Columbus to capture growth opportunities in the auto, energy and other major markets.

As regards the future, Severstal said that it believed the pace of recovery in the US will continue to be gradual and that steel prices will also be supported by restocking and higher raw material prices.

Severstal North America's revenue for H1 2010 was up 38.9 percent year on year to $2.616 billion, with a much lower EBITDA loss of $24 million compared to a loss of $479 million in H1 2009.

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