Luxembourg-headquartered global stainless steel producer Aperam SA, which was spun off by ArcelorMittal and separately listed in 2011, has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2011. Accordingly, Aperam has posted a net loss both for the fourth quarter and the whole year.
In the fourth quarter, Aperam registered a net loss of $46 million, while it posted a net loss of $60 million in 2011 compared to a net profit of $104 million in 2010.
In the fourth quarter, Aperam's sales increased slightly to $1.43 billion, compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Fourth quarter shipments have not shown any changes compared to the previous quarter, remaining at 429,000 mt, but increased by 17.2 percent year on year.
In 2011, Aperam increased its sales by 13.2 percent year on year to $6.3 billion, while steel shipments registered a slight increase, amounting to 1.74 million mt.
According to Aperam's statement, since the beginning of the year they have started to see signs of a recovery; however, they continue to remain cautious due to the global economic uncertainty for 2012.