Finland-based stainless steel producer Outokumpu has announced its financial results for 2014, registering a net loss of €439 million, declining from a net loss of €1 billion in the previous year, while the company's sales for the whole year increased by 1.46 percent year on year to €6.84 billion.
Outokumpu's stainless steel deliveries in 2014 decreased by 1.2 percent year on year to 2.55 million mt. The company pointed out that global stainless steel real demand in 2014 grew by 5.5 percent compared to 2013. In the Americas, consumption was up by 4.7 percent and also in Europe consumption grew by 3.8 percent. In 2014, imports into the EU reached a 30.6 percent share of total domestic consumption, while imports into the NAFTA region accounted for a 18.9 percent share of total consumption.
For the first quarter of 2015, Outokumpu estimates higher delivery volumes quarter on quarter and base prices to be slightly down. According to Outokumpu, in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), order intake is improving and underlying demand remains relatively healthy, while Asia remains soft in the beginning of the year. In Americas, the pace for placing new orders is somewhat subdued with the uncertainty over the nickel price, but overall market conditions remain promising.