Sao Paulo, Brazil-based flat-rolled steelmaker Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) announced Wednesday that net income of 616 million reais (US$384 million) in Q1 2011, was a 37 percent increase over Q4 2010, and rose 38 percent year-over-year.
The gain was primarily due to high revenues in CSN's steelmaking and mining segments, which collectively account for 90.7 percent of CSN's total profits in Q1 2011. CSN's mining segment in particular had profits jump 62 percent in Q1 2011 year-on-year.
Iron ore sales rose 17 percent year-on-year in Q1 to 6.6 million metric tons (mt) due largely to higher selling prices.
Looking at the Brazilian steel market as a whole, in its quarterly financial report, CSN said that according to the Brazilian Steel Institute (IABr), Q1 2011 consolidated production in Brazil totaled 8.5 million mt of crude steel and 6.4 million mt of flat-rolled steel, up 6.2 and 2 percent, respectively, on a year-over-year basis.
Domestic steel product sales in Brazil amounted to 5.3 million mt in Q1, a 5.6 percent year-on-year improvement.