Stainless steel maker Aperam 'cautious' about third quarter

Aperam, a stainless and specialty steel producer with an annual production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes in 2016, said on Wednesday that the third quarter holds some challenges. Its shares fell on Thursday.

"We are cautious regarding the third quarter in view of strong seasonality and recent drops in raw material prices," Chief Executive Timoteo Di Maulo said in the company's second-quarter results statement. "We remain confident about the fundamentals of the stainless steel market and our ability to continuously enhance our performance."

Luxembourg-based Aperam has six production facilities located in Brazil, Belgium and France, and and about 9,500 employees at end-December. Its shipments amounted to 1.92 million tonnes last year. 

Stainless steel melt shop production was 45.8 million metric tonnes last year, up from 41.5 million tonnes in 2015, according to data from the International Stainless Steel Forum.

Shares in Luxembourg-based Aperam were 0.8 per cent lower in Amsterdam at €41.27 as of 12.30pm.

The company reported a 60 per cent increase in net income in the second quarter to $85 million (€72.5 million) from $53 million in the same period of 2016. The result includes a $25 million income tax expense.

(€1=$1.17)

(Alistair Holloway, alistair.holloway@wort.lu, +352 49 93 39)  

Amended. This article first ran on July 27. It shows different figures from the International Stainless Steel Forum, correcting the line: "Global demand for all stainless steel products is expected to rise to about 160 million tonnes by the end of next year, the highest since at least 2012, according to forecasts from the International Stainless Steel Forum."