Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine's net profit fell 19 percent in the first half of the year, driven largely by lower demand for steel from automakers, maintenance work on its largest blast furnace and an unplanned closure of its US plant.
Net income for the six months to September was € 316.2 million (US $ 361.9 million) on sales of € 6.67 billion, the group said on Wednesday.
Costs rose 40.5 percent to € 475 million, with the money being used for a longer-than-expected overhaul of a blast furnace at the Linz plant in northern Austria; preparatory work for the new special steel plant Kapfenberg (central Austria) and the launch of a high-tech stamping press for aerospace materials.
“The lower first half business year results reflect the beginning impact of the global economic policies of the protectionists ... and internal one-off effects on profits,” Wolfgang Eder, CEO of Voestalpine, said in a statement.
The group issued a profit and loss warning last month, cutting its annualized profit before tax (EBIT) to just under one billion euros from $ 1.18 billion, citing weaker demand for steel from automakers and disruptions in international trade.
The company's shares were up 0.3 percent or 32.06 euros higher at the start of trading.
Low Automotive Steel Demand Impacts Voestalpine Profits
|
Azovpromstal® 8 November 2018 г. 09:12 |
