Swedish specialty steel producer SSAB has posted its financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2021.
The company reported a net profit of SEK 5.46 billion ($580.37 million) in the fourth quarter, compared to a net profit of SEK 346 million in the corresponding period of 2020 and a net profit of SEK 4.48 billion in the third quarter last year. The company’s sales revenues amounted to SEK 27.34 billion ($2.90 billion) in the fourth quarter, increasing by 8.4 percent quarter on quarter and up by 61 percent year on year. In the same period, the company reported an operating profit of SEK 6.96 billion ($739.89 million), compared to an operating profit of SEK 5.8 billion recorded in the third quarter last year.
In the full year, SSAB reported a net profit of SEK 14.67 billion ($1.56 billion), compared to a net loss of SEK 490 million in 2020, while the company’s sales revenues amounted to SEK 95.89 billion ($10.19 billion) in 2021, increasing by 46.6 percent year on year. The company’s operating profit in 2021 amounted to SEK 18.83 billion ($2 billion).
Meanwhile, in 2021 the company’s crude steel output increased by 8.6 percent to 8.18 million mt, while its finished steel production stood at 7.56 million mt, up by 9.1 percent, both year on year. Its steel shipments in the given period went up by 7.3 percent year on year to 6.92 million mt.
According to SSAB, the demand for steel during the first quarter this year is expected to be good, albeit with continued uncertainty associated with a shortage of components as well as bottlenecks in logistics chains. SSAB also said that it anticipates that global demand for high-strength steel will be good during the given quarter in more or less all markets.
Meanwhile, SSAB has taken a policy decision to transform Nordic strip production and accelerate its green transition. The decision was taken due to strongly growing demand for fossil-free steel. The plan is to replace the existing system with new mini-mill technology, which will result in a broader product program and an improved cost position. The ambition is to largely eliminate carbon emissions by around 2030, 15 years earlier than previously announced. Strategic investments in the new strip production system are expected to total approximately SEK 45 billion ($4.78 billion) during 2022-30.