2019-05-09
May, 9, 2019 - President & CEO Roeland Baan said “Outokumpu’s first quarter performance was in line with our expectations. Our adjusted EBITDA amounted to EUR 54 million reflecting the challenging market situation. Seasonally demand in Europe was stronger than in the previous quarter but not to the extent we would usually experience. In spite of this, we increased our market share. Realized base prices came down slightly compared to fourth quarter.
Business area Europe’s adjusted EBITDA was further burdened by EUR 12 million currency derivative loss. As expected, business area Americas had a weak quarter caused by high inventories of expensive raw materials. These inventories have now been consumed and we expect the Americas’ profitability to improve supported by the new leadership and revamped commercial and supply chain processes. Operating cash flow developed favorably thanks to increased focus on working capital. The increase of our net debt to EUR 1.37 billion was due to the IFRS 16 accounting change. The EU’s permanent safeguards, introduced in February, have proven to be effective. Cold-rolled imports to Europe have come back to the levels before the introduction of steel tariffs. However, the full market recovery will take some time as the overall economic uncertainty is adversely influencing demand and volumes. Thanks to diligent execution of our must-win battles, our productivity and operational stability have improved substantially providing us a hedge against adverse market circumstances.”
Highlights in the first quarter of 2019
7. Return on capital employed (ROCE) was 4.3% (Dec 31, 2018: 7.0%).
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