Steel and metal product shipments by Germany’s Klöckner & Co. increased 8.1% year on year to 2.3 million mt in the first half of 2024, the company said Aug. 1.
Acquisitions in H2 2023, particularly of New Jersey-based Amerinox Processing, helped boost its shipments in the US and Mexico, the steel and metals processor and distributor said in second-quarter earnings.
Second-quarter metals shipments rose to 1.2 million mt, up 11.5% from the first quarter and up 3.7% year on year.
However, sales slipped 2.6% year on year to Eur3.5 billion ($3.78 billion) in the first half of 2024 due to lower prices. This contributed to EBITDA falling 37% to Eur83 million. The company expects its full year EBITDA to be Eur120 million, down from Eur180 million in 2023, saying earnings in the prior-year comparative periods benefited from a more favorable market environment.
Demand has been weaker than expected in 2024, especially in Europe, the company said. Klöckner expects the Amerinox acquisition to drive a slight increase in shipments for full-year 2024 but sees sales falling year on year due to lower steel prices.
“Despite a challenging environment, we achieved a solid result and made further progress in implementing our strategy,” CEO Guido Kerkhoff said in a statement. “With the acquisition of Amerinox Processing in North America, we further expanded our range of higher value-added products and services.”
Amerinox processes stainless steel, aluminum and special carbon steel. Klöckner said it aims to use Amerinox’s favorable location at the major port of Camden to build competitive, global supply chains. In March 2024, the company disposed of parts of its European distribution business.