Russian steelmaker
Severstal has announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2012. Accordingly, in the first quarter
Severstal's net profit decreased by 17.7 percent to $427 million, compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
In the given quarter,
Severstal's sales revenues increased by 5.6 percent year on year to $3.67 billion, while decreasing by 1.3 percent compared to the previous quarter due to lower realized prices. The company's first quarter EBITDA decreased 29.6 percent year on year to $562 million and its EBITDA margin for the quarter was 15.3 percent, down from 22.9 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2011.
Regarding the second quarter outlook,
Severstal anticipates higher demand in
Russia due to seasonal construction growth. While the export markets remain volatile due to subdued European demand, the second quarter could see some increase in prices and higher demand in the export markets due to buying ahead of Ramadan in the Middle East. Meanwhile, US demand remains solid with the automotive industry registering a 13 percent year-on-year increase in auto sales in the first quarter.