Voestalpine posts substantial profit increase for Q3 FY 2009-10

Friday, 26 February 2010 11:26:05 (GMT+2)

On February 25, Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine Group (Voestalpine) announced its financial results for the third quarter ended December 31 of the fiscal year 2009-10. Accordingly, the company's profit for the period increased by 153 percent quarter on quarter, reaching €71.5 million, while its revenues totaled €2.09 billion, rising slightly by 0.77 percent, after five consecutive quarters with declining results.

Commenting on the results, Voestalpine CEO Wolfgang Eder said, "In the course of the 2009-10 business year, we have been able to accomplish a broadly based turnaround, from a loss in the first quarter to positive figures in the second quarter to a substantial profit in the third quarter."

On the other hand, the group's crude steel production in the first three quarters of FY 2009-10 stood at 4.44 million metric tons, declining by 22.5 percent as compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, while the company's investments were reduced by almost 50 percent to €381.3 million.

Looking forward to 2010, the company release reads, "Continuously improving capacity utilization is anticipated for all five divisions of Voestalpine, to the extent that they are not already working at full capacity, such as the steel division. Driven by the expected massive price increases for coal and ore, significant increases in earnings along the group's entire value chain are being anticipated for 2010. Voestalpine should be able to conclude the 2009-10 business year with a clearly positive operating result, as well as a positive profit for the period."

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