On February 11, New Zealand's largest distributor of steel and allied products Steel & Tube Holdings Limited (Steel & Tube) announced its unaudited consolidated financial results for the first six months, ended December 31, of the current fiscal year.
Accordingly, in the given period the company's profit after tax decreased to NZD 3.2 million (US$2.24 million), from NZD 20.8 million, while its sales declined by 30.36 percent to NZD 190.6 million (US$133.19 million), due to the effect of lower demand and reduced steel prices, both compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year
Commenting on the results, the company statement reads, "This first half was worse than the second half of the last financial year with all sectors of the business deteriorating in volume and profitability. Volume stabilized toward the end of the half year and pricing also steadied. Focus on costs and business improvements have yielded greater savings than initial expectations."
The company said that there are early signs that conditions may be slowly improving but the key issue is the uncertainty around the extent and timing of the recovery. The impact of any recovery is likely to have a limited or minimal effect on the company this financial year. It is expected, however, that the second half of the financial year will produce results ahead of those achieved in the first six months.