Spain-based seamless stainless steel pipe producer Tubacex has announced its financial results for the third quarter and the first nine months of this year.
In the given quarter, the company reported a net loss of €6.2 million, compared to a net profit of €1.1 million in the third quarter of 2025, while its sales revenues amounted to €152 million, down by 7.6 percent year on year. In addition, Tubacex's EBITDA in the third quarter declined by 31.8 percent year on year to €16.2 million, with its EBITDA margin decreasing to 10.6 percent from 14.4 percent in the same quarter of last year.
In the first nine months, the company recorded a net loss of €5.5 million, compared to a net profit of €16.7 million in the same period of 2025, while its sales revenues came to €475.6 million, dropping by 9.6 percent year on year. Additionally, Tubacex's EBITDA in the given period moved down by 36.2 percent compared to the first nine months of 2025 to €54 million, with its EBITDA margin falling to 11.4 percent from 16.1 percent.
The company stated that its performance in the first nine months continued to reflect the lower order intake recorded during 2025 amid a challenging business environment characterized by US tariff policies, geopolitical tensions and delays in investment decisions. In addition, Tubacex emphasized that its operations have been significantly affected since March by operational and logistical disruptions stemming from instability in the Middle East, particularly impacting its activities in Abu Dhabi. The disruptions have affected planning, production, logistics and invoicing across the group's value chain. Lower activity volumes, reduced fixed-cost absorption and higher energy, gas and logistics costs have also weighed on profitability. Nevertheless, the company stated that efficiency improvements, operational discipline and its focus on higher value-added products have helped maintain a double-digit EBITDA margin.
Following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Tubacex adopted alternative logistics routes to maintain production and supply continuity in Abu Dhabi, although some shipments remained held in transit. As a result, the company reported a temporary increase in inventories and working capital requirements. At the end of September, working capital stood at €384.1 million, up by €60.2 million compared to the end of 2025, while net financial debt increased by the same amount to €405 million. Tubacex stated that its priority remains the normalization of operations and logistics flows, together with working capital management and cash generation. Meanwhile, its capital expenditure in the first nine months amounted to €35 million, mainly focused on efficiency improvements and selective initiatives involving premium and higher value-added products.
Tubacex also noted that its short-term performance will continue to be affected by tariff and regulatory uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and delays in investment decisions in the fourth quarter. However, the company stated that the European Union's safeguard measures, which have been in force since July, could support a recovery in European activity following two years of weakness, depending on their impact on new orders. Looking ahead to 2027, Tubacex expects the potential award of new projects in the OCTG, subsea, nuclear and aerospace and defense segments to strengthen its order book and support a gradual recovery in activity.
