Brazil-based steel producer Gerdau SA has reported its financial results for the third quarter and the first nine months of the current year.
In the third quarter, the net profit of the company was R$642 million ($292 million), up 57.4 percent compared to the corresponding quarter of 2012. In the first nine months of the year, Gerdau registered a net profit of R$1.2 billion ($545.7 million), down 11.2 percent year on year. The net sales of Gerdau amounted to R$10.5 billion ($4.77 billion) in the third quarter, rising by 6.9 percent, while they increased by 1.9 percent to R$29.5 billion ($13.42 billion) in the first nine months, both year on year.
Gerdau produced 4.5 million mt of crude steel in the third quarter, down 5.1 percent year on year, due to the efforts to optimize working capital, especially at the North American and Brazilian operations. The company's crude steel output for January-September amounted to 13.56 million mt, falling by eight percent compared to the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, third quarter sales amounted to 4.77 million mt, remaining flat year on year. In the Brazilian operations, the growth in shipments was driven by stronger domestic market demand, especially in the commercial construction and infrastructure sectors. The company's sales in the first nine months were 13.96 million mt, down 2.2 percent, both year on year.
According to Gerdau's statement, in the third quarter the company's investments in fixed assets totaled R$714.9 million ($325.2 million), bringing overall investments in the first nine months of the year to R$1.9 billion ($864.2 million).
