Turkish pipemaker Özbal Çelik Boru has announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2012, reporting a net loss of TRY 948.916 ($516,711) compared to a net profit of TRY 1.3 million in the same quarter of 2011.
In the first quarter this year, total sales revenues of the company decreased 59.8 percent year on year to TRY 12.33 million ($6.71 million). Özbal also reported an operating loss of TRY 2.13 million ($1.16 million) for the given period, compared to an operating profit of TRY 2.44 million in the first quarter of the previous year.
The company has not made any investments in the first three months of 2012 and has no investment plans for 2012. In 2012, the company aims to use 50 percent of its capacity for the domestic market, while channeling the other half for overseas orders.
Özbal Çelik Boru stated that it sees the Arab Spring as an opportunity to grow in that region, seeking new business opportunities. Özbal is also one of the six companies qualified by Nabucco International Company to produce pipes for the Nabucco natural gas pipeline.