Bursa-based Turkish steelmaker Cemtas Celik Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S (Cemtas) has announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2015.
Cemtas has reported a net loss of TRY 200,000 ($74,000) for the given quarter, compared to a net profit of TRY 7.6 million in the first quarter of the previous year. In the first quarter, the sales revenue of the company amounted to TRY 50.76 million ($18.8 million), falling 30.1 percent year on year, while it registered an operating loss of TRY 318,646 ($117,900), compared to an operating profit of TRY 9.8 million in the same period of 2014.
In the January-March period this year, Cemtas' steel billet output totaled 26,203 mt, decreasing by 40 percent, while its rolled steel output declined by 48 percent to 20,649 mt, both compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
According to Cemtas, in the first quarter this year the Turkish automotive industry recorded a growth rate of 31 percent. In the given period, steel prices were volatile since prices of raw materials, especially of scrap, were fluctuating and as demand indicated ups and downs. In the first three months, the declines in steel prices in line with scrap prices switched to an upward trend with the support of higher demand.