Severstal 2Q Net Profit More Than Tripled On Year

Severstal 2Q Net Profit At $602 Million, More Than Tripled On Year.
Staff Reporters
MetalSource Steel

MOSCOW (Dow Jones)- Russian steelmaker OAO Severstal said Friday its second-quarter net profit more than tripled on year to $602 million due to "robust price environment and increasing demand for steel and bulks products." The profit, however, came in lower than the $621.4 million forecast by five analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. MAIN FACTS:
-Net profit at $602 million, up from $192 million in the second quarter of 2010.
-Revenue at $4.38 billion, up from $4.25 billion a year earlier, and higher than the Dow Jones analyst forecast of $4.27 billion.
-Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization at $1.11 billion, up from $955 million a year earlier on the good performance of the company's mining segment and the improvements in the Severstal's U.S. operations. The figure coincided with the forecast.
-Ebitda margin at 25.3%, up from 22.5% a year earlier.
-Severstal expects global steel prices to stabilize in the third-quarter as a result of low steel margins, thin inventories and an improving demand-supply balance. The demand is expected to revive due to the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the monsoon season, the end of the holiday season in the U.S. and Europe, pick-up in automotive production due to the resolution of supply-chain disruptions after Japan's earthquake and solid construction activity in China on the back of government infrastructure and affordable housing programs.