Germany-based steelmaker Salzgitter Group has announced its financial results for the first half of the current year, posting a net profit of €41.3 million, compared to a net loss of €15.9 million in the corresponding period of 2014.
Salzgitter's sales revenues amounted to €4.53 billion in the first six months, decreasing slightly by 0.44 percent year on year, while the company's EBITDA totaled €280.8 million, increasing by 34.22 percent compared to the first half of 2014.
According to Salzgitter's statement, due to the highly intense competition in the European steel market, selling prices for most products have weakened over the course of the year, resulting in external sales falling just short of the previous year’s figure. While the section business proved comparably stable, the heavy plate business was impacted by modest demand and increasing import volumes.
“The Strip Steel Business Unit expects a clearly negative result for the third quarter. The reason for this is the blast furnace relining commencing in August at Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, which will lead to roughly €80 million in one-off burdens in the second half of the year. Savings on the cost front, thanks to the commencement of regular operations at the new pulverized coal injection plant among other things, will naturally be unable to offset this completely. Overall, it is assumed that sales will be lower than in the financial year 2014,” Salzgitter said.