Egypt's largest steelmaker Ezz Steel has announced its financial results for the first nine months ended on September 30, 2012.
Accordingly, in the first nine months of 2012 Ezz Steel registered a net loss of EGP 46 million ($6.82 million), compared to a net profit of EGP 179 million in the same period of the previous year. The company cited the deepening of the recession in the global steel industry, the ongoing deterioration of the Egyptian economy, and the slowdown in the local steel market due to the seasonal effect of the summer and Ramadan holidays as the three major negative factors faced during the given period.
In the period in question, the company's net sales increased by five percent year on year to EGP 14.84 billion ($2.2 billion), reflecting higher production from its EFS plant following commercial operation of the long product mill during 2012. Long product prices fell by one percent year on year in the local market, while flat steel prices were stable in the local market, and overall export prices fell by six percent, reflecting the broader weakness in the international steel markets.
Ezz Steel stated that, in terms of volume, its sales in the January-September period increased slightly by one percent to 3.5 million mt, due to increased long product production at its EFS plant following the commissioning of the long product mill during 2011.
According to Ezz Steel's statement, long steel production volumes reached 2.9 million mt in the given period, up 13 percent year on year, while its flat steel production volume decreased by 13 percent year on year to 683,000 mt due to the suspension of flat production at EFS due to weaker global demand and pricing and the concentration of production at that plant on long products.
