Avesta Polarit announces operating profit results

Avesta Polarit announces operating profit results

The Finnish stainless steelmaker Avesta Polarit, an integral part of Outokumpu, announced its operating profit as €99 million for the first six months of 2003 with a 37.3% decrease when compared to €158 million recorded in the same period last year. However, the company's sales revenue reached to €1.7 billion, up by 8.5%. According to company authorities, the decrease in the profitability was due to lower deliveries of finished products and lower base prices for cold rolled products as well as increased fixed costs in the Tornio mill expansion. The company estimates to improve towards the end of year due to higher delivery volumes and an improved product mix from Tornio plant.