Turkey's largest steelmaking group Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari TAS (Erdemir) has announced its financial results for the first half of the year, stating that it recorded a net profit of TRY 554.5 million ($354.5 million), up 37 percent compared to the first half of 2010. Net profit margin of the company increased to 13.1 percent, up one point compared to the same period of the previous year.
According to the consolidated financial results, Erdemir increased its sales revenues by 32 percent to TRY 4.2 billion ($2.7 billion) compared to the same period of the previous year. The company also increased its operating income for the first half of the current year. In the first six months of 2011, Erdemir posted a 40 percent year-on-year increase in its operating income to TRY 848 million ($490.9 million).
Regarding the operational results, in H1 2011 crude steel production at Erdemir's Eregli works dropped by 7.8 percent from H1 2010 to 1.6 million mt, while crude steel output at the producer's Iskenderun works rose by 9.8 percent year on year to 2.03 million mt.
Erdemir said that, in the first half of the current year as compared to the same half of 2010, Eregli steelworks increased its capacity usage rate to 92 percent in tin plate production from 89 percent, to 109 percent in galvanized coil production from 70 percent, to 81 percent in cold rolled coil (CRC) production from 70 percent, and to 60 percent in steel plate production from four percent, while its capacity usage remained unchanged at 70 percent in hot rolled coil production.
Erdemir also stated that its finished steel sales from its Eregli steelworks amounted to 1.8 million mt in the first half this year, rising by 9 percent, while its finished steel sales from its Isdemir works totaled 1.6 million mt, up by 1 percent, both compared to the same period of last year.