Steel Mills
Kloeckner Metals Improvements Boost H1 EBITDA
Written by Sandy Williams
August 9, 2014
Kloeckner Metals Corp. shipments fell by 3.8 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2014, due to the extended winter, consolidation of sites and the reduction of low-margin business. EBITDA improved by 27 percent from €41 million to €52 million ($55 million to $69.7 million), helped by operational improvements and higher-margins.
The company expects US steel demand to increase by 4-5 percent over 2014 due to a strong automotive industry and improving commercial construction.
Parent company Klöckner & Co. SE, headquartered in Germany, reported shipments were up 0.5 percent to 3.4 million tonnes (3.7 million net tons). Sales were down slightly by 2.1 percent to €3.3 billion ($4.4 million) due to a weaker US/Euro exchange rate and lower steel prices in Europe. Net income was €13 million ($17.4 million) compared to a loss of €20 million ($26.8 million) in the same period of 2013.
“After returning to profit in the first quarter, we sustained the upward trend in the second quarter too, despite conditions in Europe remaining difficult,” said Gisbert Rühl, CEO of Klöckner & Co SE. “This shows that the expansion of our activities in the USA and the very comprehensive restructuring measures are already proving increasingly effective.”
Klöckner’s US segment is Kloeckner Metals Corporation, headquartered in Roswell, Georgia. Kloeckner Metals consists of three business segments: Flat Rolled Group, Heavy Carbon Group and Special Products Group. The company also has three divisions: Temtco Steel Division, Kloeckner Metals Processing Division and California Steel & Tube Division.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
Ternium pushes forward with growth projects despite slump in earnings and Mexican market
Ternium S.A. Fourth quarter ended Dec.31 2024 2023 Change Net sales $3,876 $4,931 -21.4% Net income (loss) $333 $554 -39.9% Per diluted share $1.43 $2.11 -32.2% Full year ended Dec.31 Net sales $17,649 $17,610 0.2% Net income (loss) $174 $986 -82.4% Per diluted share $(0.27) $3.44 -108% (in millions of dollars except per share) While […]
Kestenbaum, Ancora state their case in proxy fight for U.S. Steel
Ancora Holdings is moving forward with its proxy fight to oust U.S. Steel’s leadership and install a new board of directors and Alan Kestenbaum as CEO.
BlueScope shelves midstream facility but still upbeat on US
BlueScope Steel is pulling back on its expansion plans in the US for now but remains optimistic about the North American market.
Japanese PM cites ‘unjust political interference’ in Nippon/USS deal: Report
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday that former President Joe Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s buy of U.S. Steel was “unjust political interference,” according to a report in Reuters. This comes after another Reuters report on Friday saying that President Trump would not object to Nippon taking a minority stake in the […]
Trump says Nippon will ‘invest heavily’ in USS rather than buy it
Nippon Steel has agreed to “invest heavily in U.S. Steel as opposed to own it,” President Donald Trump said on Friday during a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. U.S. Steel is “a very important company” and was once “the greatest company in the world”. Of potential foreign ownership of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, Trump said, “the concept, psychologically, not good."