Special steelmaker Aperam posts record Q2, with Brazil the major driver

Special and stainless steelmaker Aperam expects the current positive environment in its markets to persist during the second half of the year, which should be the best second half in the company’s history, the Luxembourg-based company said in its Q2 results report July 30.

CEO Timoteo Di Maulo said in the company’s earnings statement that the second quarter already had produced a record result “for which Brazil and [he Services & Solutions segment] were major drivers….. Europe also improved significantly as the price environment has now fully normalized on the back of the economic recovery and more effective protection against dumping.”

Di Maulo added, “while restocking-driven demand, stretched global supply chains, and positive effects from higher raw material prices will eventually fade, we expect the positive environment to persist during the second half of the year.”

Steel shipments rose to 481,000 mt in Q2, mainly of stainless and electrical steels, up from 376,000 mt in Q2 2020, the company said. Net profit surged to Eur213 million ($253 million) in Q2, from Eur21 million the same quarter a year ago.

Sales revenue rose to Eur1.27 billion from Eur818 million a year ago on substantial price increases, while adjusted EBITDA jumped to Eur545/mt, from Eur130/mt, it said.

Net debt as of June 30 fell to Eur1 million from Eur56 million at the end of Q1.

In preparation for its next phase of growth and specialization, the company is investing in its Brazil hot rolling mill to drive growth in high-value stainless products, it said.

“Brazil delivered its best quarter ever in Q2 on the back of an excellent demand environment and a positive seasonality,” the company said in its statement.

Aperam has a flat Stainless and Electrical steel capacity of 2.5 million mt/year in Brazil and Europe. It produces stainless and special steels from low-cost biomass (charcoal made from its own certified forests). In addition to its industrial network, spread over six production facilities in Brazil, Belgium, and France, Aperam has an integrated distribution, processing, and services network.

In 2020, Aperam had sales of EUR3.62 billion and steel shipments of 1.68 million mt.

— Diana Kinch