Steel Mills

AHMSA Losses Steam from Low Steel Pricing

November 2, 2015

Altos Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA) reported a net loss of 1.28 billion pesos ($77.8 million) for third quarter 2015, almost double its loss from the same period in 2014.

Revenue dropped to 10.2 billion pesos ($619 million) for the quarter. Steel production fell 1.16 percent to 922,138 tonnes. Production of thermal coal increased 5.31 percent to 1.88 million tonnes.

For the first nine months of 2015, net loss was 3.16 billion pesos ($192 million) compared to a loss of 296 million pesos ($17.8 million) in 2014.

The Mexican steelmaker attributed poor results to low steel pricing resulting from cheap imported steel. Market conditions caused AHMSA to freeze new investment and reduce production and labor in June of 2015.

In September, Mexico imposed a 15 percent temporary tariff on five categories of steel imports from non-trade agreement countries, in an effort to reign in the onslaught of low priced imports.

AHMSA, headquartered in Monclova, Coahuila, is the largest integrated steelworks in Mexico with a production capacity of 5 million tonnes of liquid steel annually. AHMSA is a national leader in production and marketing of flat products: hot rolled coil, wide plate in coils or sheets, cold rolled coil, tinplate and tin-free steel. Furthermore, it has production lines for structural shapes for the construction industry.