Voestalpine’s steel division operates at full capacity in Q1 FY 2012-13

Austrian steelmaker voestalpine AG has announced its financial results for the first quarter ended June 30 of the fiscal year 2012-13.
 
Accordingly, voestalpine's net income in the given period decreased to €145 million, down by 31 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The revenues of the company remained at €3.05 billion, unchanged compared to the first quarter of the previous financial year.
 
In the first quarter, the company's EBITDA decreased by 19 percent year on year to €375 million, which is equivalent to an EBITDA margin of 12.3 percent, declining from 15.2 percent, adversely affected by the weak economy.
 
According to voestalpine's statement, the steel division revenues in the first quarter amounted to €1 billion, down 3.7 percent year on year. Due to its stable customer structure with its concentration on long-term partnerships, the steel division was able to almost fully utilize its production capacity in the quarter in question.
 
The company also pointed out that in Europe overall the steel industry continues to experience very significant structural overcapacity, particularly for standard grades. The cutbacks in production and prospects of new cutbacks have not had any effect on the market thus far.
 
Investments rose in the first quarter by 15 percent to €135 million from €117 million in the first quarter of the previous financial year.