Spanish stainless steel producer Acerinox S.A. has announced its financial and operational results for the third quarter of the current year.
In the given quarter, the company reported a net profit of €85 million, compared to a net profit of €25 million in the third quarter of 2025, while its net sales amounted to €1.59 billion, rising by 12.4 percent year on year. In addition, Acerinox's EBITDA in the third quarter went up by 84.3 percent year on year to €199 million.
In the third quarter, the company's crude steel production increased by 11.1 percent year on year to 501,000 mt. Also, its hot rolled long product output rose by 18.2 percent compared to the same quarter of 2025 to 39,000 mt, while its cold rolled product production totaled 272,000 mt, decreasing by 4.9 percent year on year.
Acerinox has stated that its third-quarter results reflected the resilience of its business amid persistent weakness in demand and macroeconomic uncertainty. Commenting on the results, CEO Bernardo Velázquez said the company's operations in North America continued to be the main driver of profitability, while the European market remained under pressure due to seasonal factors and weaker-than-expected demand. The company's stainless steel division recorded EBITDA of €175 million, up from €76 million in the same quarter last year, while EBITDA in its high-performance alloys division decreased to €24 million from €32 million. Acerinox also estimated that the conflict in the Middle East had a negative impact of €16 million on its third-quarter EBITDA due to higher energy and transportation costs.
The company also highlighted the impact of the European Union's trade defense measures. Although demand remained subdued, stainless steel flat product imports into Europe declined by 42 percent in the first nine months of the year and by 50 percent in the third quarter. Acerinox noted that the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which entered into force on January 1, 2026, and the European Union's new steel trade defense measures, which took effect on July 1, have contributed to the decline in imports. The latter reduced annual tariff-rate quotas by 55 percent and increased tariffs on imports exceeding those quotas from 25 percent to 50 percent. According to Velázquez, the full impact of these measures has yet to materialize, as high inventory levels and weak economic conditions continue to limit the recovery of the European stainless steel market. The company estimated that apparent consumption of stainless steel flat products in Europe fell by 22 percent in the third quarter and by 11 percent in the first nine months of 2026.
Meanwhile, Acerinox reported that its net sales in the January-September period increased by 1.9 percent year on year to €4.56 billion, while its EBITDA rose by 46.4 percent to €470 million. The company recorded a net profit of €162 million in the first nine months, compared to €7 million in the same period of 2025. Its crude steel production increased by 4.9 percent year on year to 1.53 million mt. Acerinox stated that the improvement in its results was supported by its US stainless steel operations, although the high-performance alloys division continued to face weak demand in the oil and gas and chemical sectors.
Despite the strong performance of its US business, Acerinox expects its EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2026 to be lower than in the third quarter due to typical year-end seasonality in the United States. The company also expects working capital and net financial debt to decrease by the end of the year. Regarding the European market, Acerinox stated that a recovery is not expected before early 2027, as weak consumption continues to slow the sale of products purchased before the new trade measures took effect.
