voestalpine has announced operating result for the first half of the business year 2011.
Highlights:
Revenue grows to EUR 5,978 million, up by 15.1% YoY
EBITDA increases from EUR 710 million to EUR 824 million
EBIT rises by 28.3% from EUR 414 million to EUR 531 million
EBIT margin improves from 8.0% to 8.9%
Profit climbs by 39% from EUR 250 million to EUR 346 million
Overall work force again at the pre crisis level (47,109)
Difficult second half of the year anticipated
Compared to the first half of the previous year, the voestalpine Group achieved significant increases during the first six months of the current business year, both in revenue and in all reporting categories. Revenue rose by 15.1% from EUR 5,191.8 million in the previous year to EUR 5,977.7 million. A comparison of EBITDA and EBIT at the Group level to the first half of the previous year shows an increase in profits in EBITDA by 16.0%, from EUR 710.5 million to EUR 824.2 million, while EBIT climbed by 28.3% from EUR 414.2 million to EUR 531.4 million.
Significant improvement in all reporting categories
With the exception of the Steel Division (shutdown during the second quarter to complete investments), all divisions contributed to this positive trend, whereby the Special Steel Division, with its EBIT increase of 88.7% compared to last year’s figure, deserves special mention. But the other divisions also reported two digit growth rates in EBIT. In addition to the gratifying trend in operating results, profit before tax and profit for the period have gone up substantially compared to the previous year’s figures. EBT rose from EUR 317.4 million to EUR 443.3 million or 39.7%, while the profit for the period went from EUR 249.7 million to EUR 346.1 million, an increase of 38.6%. For the first half of this business year, earnings per share (EPS) were EUR 1.82 per share (previous year: EUR 1.24).
Equity rose in the first six months of the business year 2011/12 (March 31st 2011) by EUR 80.1 million or 1.7% to EUR 4,771.2 million. The increase is due to the very positive profit for the period, whereby the payment of a dividend in the amount of EUR 135.0 million in the second quarter of the business year as well as the proportionate share of reserves for interest on hybrid capital of EUR 65.2 million had the customary subduing effect on the trend in equity. The most significant factors for the build-up of working capital and the resulting increase of net financial debt by 7.1% from EUR 2,713.1 million as of March 31, 2011 to EUR 2,905.1 million as of September 30, 2011 were rooted in the seasonal effects and the economy in general, but also in operational effects resulting from the three week shutdown in the Steel Division. Against this background, as of the end of the first half year 2011/12, there was a gearing ratio (net financial debt as a percentage of equity) of 60.9%. Thus, it is 3.1 percentage points above the figure as of March 31, 2011 (57.8%), however, it will decrease substantially in the course of the year.
Second quarter at a high and stable level despite seasonal fluctuations
Compared to the immediately preceding quarter, revenue in the second quarter showed a slightly downward trend at 4.1%. This was due primarily to the customary seasonal effects in the summer and the three-week shutdown in the Steel Division. The effects of this shutdown made themselves felt in the comparison of the second quarter with the immediately preceding quarter, and the customary seasonal effects, which were amplified somewhat by increasingly cautious customer behavior, affected the other divisions as well. Against this backdrop, Group EBITDA fell by 21.9% from EUR 462.9 million to EUR 361.3 million when compared to the immediately preceding quarter, while EBIT showed a decrease of 32.7% from EUR 317.6 million to EUR 213.8 million.
Crude steel production continues to grow
The voestalpine Group was able to increase its crude steel production in the first half of 2011/12 compared to the same figure in the previous year by 5.4% from 3.75 million tonnes to 3.95 million tonnes. The Railway Systems Division reported the largest relative growth at 25.9% and 810,000 tonnes. However, the previous year’s figure had been reduced by the (scheduled) major blast furnace repair in the second quarter of 2010/11. While crude steel production in the Special Steel Division went up by 430,000 tonnes or 6.3%, the figure remained practically unchanged in the Steel Division at 2.71 million (+0.4%) tonnes.
Sourced from steelguru.com
×
