Steel Mills

SSAB Americas Sees Increased Shipments, Profits in Q2

Written by David Schollaert

July 21, 2021

SSAB Americas reported record profits on shipments totaling 494,000 metric tons in the second quarter, up 2% from the previous quarter and up 6% when compared to the same year-ago period. Demand for heavy plate remained strong across most consumer segments, the company said.

Sharp increases in steel prices pushed revenues up 32% from the first quarter to SEK 4,831 million ($554.8 million), and up 50% from the same period last year when revenues were SEK 3,219 million ($369.7 million).

Operating profits surged to SEK 1,151 million ($132.2 million) versus SEK 268 million ($30.8 million) the previous quarter and up from a SEK 10 million loss ($1.2 million) year on year. Profit gains were primarily attributed to historically higher prices as operating margins rose to 24%.

“For Q2 2021, we report the highest quarterly operating profit ever, driven by strong demand, high steel prices and stable production,” said Martin Lindqvist, SSAB President and CEO. “At the same time, we consolidated our position as the leading force in the green transition of the steel industry.”

Higher scrap prices resulted in SSAB Americas’ scrap cost rising 7% from the prior quarter. Spot pricing is expected to remain largely flat in the near-term, the company said.

The company plans to upgrade the quench and temper line at its Mobile, Ala., mill during a planned outage in the fourth quarter. Expansion of the QL6 line, put on hold last year, is expected to be completed in mid-year 2022 and will add 100,000 metric tons of new Q&T capacity.

SSAB anticipates that global demand for steel, including high-strength steel, will remain very strong, driven by both underlying demand and by customer restocking. The increase in realized prices will be partially offset by higher raw material costs in the third quarter, the company said.

(Note: 1 Swedish Krona = 0.11 U.S. dollar)

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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