Boulogne-Billancourt, France-based Vallourec, which is specialized in production of hot rolled seamless steel tubes, expandable tubular technology, automotive parts and stainless steel, has announced its financial results for the first quarter of the current year.
According to Vallourec's report, in the first quarter its sales volume totaled 504,000 mt, increasing by 0.7 percent year on year and down 14.3 percent quarter on quarter, while the company's sales revenue amounted to €1.199 billion, up by four percent year on year and down 23 percent quarter on quarter. The EBITDA margin dipped by 25 percent year on year to €152 million, but was down 40 percent quarter on quarter. Vallourec's net income in the first quarter this year amounted to €40 million, down 57 percent year on year and by 70 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2011.
Vallourec chairman Philippe Crouzet commented, "As anticipated, the group recorded a weak performance during the quarter. We continue to see sustained demand from the oil and gas market, with high oil prices supporting a high level of investment for exploration and production." However, he remarked that demand from industrial sectors and from the automotive industry was weak.
Vallourec foresees that EBITDA will start improving in the second quarter, even if the full year balance sheet will still suffer due to the negative economical environment, particularly in Europe. Meanwhile, in 2012 Vallourec's revenue may rise by at least five percent.