Brazil-based Gerdau group posted a consolidated net profit of BRL 6.85 billion ($1.39 billion) for 2023, against BRL 13.88 billion achieved in 2022.
Net sales declined by 16.4 percent to BRL 68.92 billion and the EBITDA declined by 37.2 percent to BRL 13.51 billion.
By volume, the production of crude steel declined by 8.8 percent to 11.56 million mt, while sales of steel products declined by 4.9 percent to 11.32 million mt.
In terms of business divisions of the group, considering the fourth quarter of the year, Brazil was responsible for 46.4 percent of the group’s net sales and 34.1 percent of its EBITDA, while North America had respectively 32.3 percent and 53.5 percent, South America had 8.9 percent and 6.4 percent and the specialty steels business division had 12.4 percent and 16.0 percent.
The company blames steel imports in Brazil for the reduced performance of the company in 2023.
Quoting numbers from the country’s steel institute IABr, the company mentioned that the import volume in 2023 was 50 percent higher than in 2022, “increasing the local competitive imbalance, chiefly due to steel imports under predatory competition conditions.”
The company added that, even though the steel industry in Brazil is a modern and highly efficient sector, “it cannot compete with heavily subsidized imports, which directly affect the competitiveness of our industry and, more importantly, the jobs of thousands of Brazilians.”
USD = BRL 4.93 (February 21)
