On February 19, Turkey's largest steelmaking group Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari T.A.Ş. (Erdemir) posted a full year loss of TRY 168.48 million ($111.37 million) for the year 2009, compared to a net profit of TRY 227.69 million in 2008, due to low sale prices registered especially in the first five months of the year.
However, the company returned to profit in the last quarter of 2009, after posting losses for the previous four consecutive quarters. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the company announced a profit of TRY 122 million ($80.64 million), compared to losses of TRY 95 million and TRY 1.23 billion in Q3 2009 and in Q4 2008 respectively.
According to a filing with the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB), in 2009 the steelmaker's net sales fell by 23 percent year on year to TRY 5.24 billion ($3.46 billion). Meanwhile, in the fourth quarter of 2009, Erdemir's sales were up 25 percent quarter on quarter and up 39.7 percent year on year, reaching TRY 1.63 billion ($1.08 billion).
In 2009, crude steel production at Erdemir's Eregli works increased by 18.9 percent year on year to 3.7 million mt, with a capacity utilization rate of 109.6 percent, while crude steel output at the producer's Iskenderun works decreased by two percent year on year to 2.7 million mt, with a capacity utilization rate registered at 80.6 percent. The company's Eregli works' finished steel output totaled 3.99 million metric tons while Isdemir works' finished steel output amounted to 2.83 million metric tons, with decreases of 1.16 percent and 2.65 percent year on year respectively.
In 2009, total finished steel product sales at the Eregli works increased by ten percent and reached 4.29 million metric tons, while the steel product sales at the Isdemir works amounted to 2.81 million metric tons, rising slightly by 0.86 percent, both compared to 2008. The company said that its export sales volume totaled 1.1 million metric tons, climbing by 65 percent year on year.
Erdemir produces pig iron, slab, billet, rebar, tin plate, galvanized, hot and cold rolled sheet.