Swedish specialty steel producer SSAB has posted its financial results for the first half and second quarter of the current year, reporting a net loss of SEK 280 million ($31.47 million) in the second quarter, compared to a net profit of SEK 1.01 billion in the corresponding period of 2019. The company's sales revenues amounted to SEK 15.15 billion ($1.7 billion) in the second quarter, decreasing by 19.3 percent quarter on quarter and down by 26.6 percent year on year. In the same period, the company reported an operating loss of SEK 251 million ($ 28,21 million) compared to an operating profit of SEK 1.32 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2019 and an operating profit of SEK 343 million in the first quarter this year. SSAB stated that the steel markets were affected by lower economic activity following the coronavirus pandemic.
In the first half of the year, the company has reported a net loss of SEK 102 million ($11.47 million), compared to a net profit of SEK 2.3 billion recorded in the same period of the previous year. In the given period, the company's sales revenues decreased by 16.6 percent year on year to SEK 33.93 billion ($3.81 billion). The company said its operating profit in the first half was SEK 92 million ($10.34 million), decreasing from the operating profit of SEK 2.99 billion recorded in the same period of the previous year.
Meanwhile, in the first half this year, SSAB's crude steel output declined by 5.8 percent to 3.86 million mt, while its finished steel production stood at 3.53 million mt, down by 7.5 percent, both year on year. Its steel shipments in the given period went down by 7.4 percent year on year to 3.21 million mt.
According to SSAB, steel demand is expected to be negatively affected by industrial deceleration in the third quarter due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. SSAB anticipates that the effect of the coronavirus on steel demand in Europe and North America will be intensified with the normal seasonal slowdown. The company underlined that steel demand is expected to improve towards the end of the third quarter. It expects global demand for high-strength steel to be less affected than standard steel demand. The company also noted that SSAB Americas’ shipments in the third quarter are expected to remain at almost the same level as in the second quarter, while shipments of SSAB Europe and SSAB Special Steels are expected to decrease during the third quarter compared with the second quarter.