Finland-based
stainless steel producer
Outokumpu has announced its financial results for the first quarter of the current year, registering a net loss of €45 million, narrowing down from a net loss of €248 million in the same quarter of the previous year, while the company's sales in the given quarter increased by 9.33 percent year on year to €1.76 billion.
Outokumpu's
stainless steel deliveries in the first quarter decreased by 8.28 percent year on year to 620,000 mt.
According to
Outokumpu, the market outlook for
stainless steel varies by region. In Europe, order intake is improving with distributor stocks gradually normalizing and underlying demand remaining healthy. In the Americas, pressure from Asian imports continues and low nickel price puts constraints on distributor sector buying. The company estimates flat delivery volumes quarter on quarter: deliveries are expected to increase somewhat in Europe and decrease in the Americas.
The company said that the Bochum melt shop in Germany will be closed in June, and its positive impact on cost savings as well as capacity utilization will become visible in the second half of the year.