The Spanish stainless steel producer Acerinox S.A. reported a net loss of €8.8 million in the third quarter, narrowing down from the net loss of €31.5 million in the same quarter of 2012, while its net sales came to €967 million, decreasing by 12.1 percent year on year.
The stainless steel producer said that stainless steel production continues to increase in 2013. According to data published by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) held on October 8, world stainless steel production totaled 18.6 million mt during the first six months of this year, 4.6 percent higher compared to the same period of the previous year and constituting a new half-year record. This increase was mainly due to the fact that Chinese stainless steel production rose by 15.1 percent year on year to 8.8 million mt, which represents 48 percent of world production.
Acerinox also pointed out that nickel prices continued their downward trend of the last three years. On July 9, nickel fell to a year-to-date low of $13,202/mt but subsequently stabilized and improved during the latter half of October.
According to Acerinox, flat product apparent consumption in Europe during the first nine months of the year increased by 1.1 percent compared to the same period previous year, mainly supported by exports of capital goods. On the other hand, the North American market has been growing up to September, with a four percent year-on-year increase, according to the company's estimates, mainly aided by a strong automotive sector and consumer goods.
In the third quarter of 2013, the company's hot rolled product output came to 464,500 metric tons, decreasing by 4.2 percent quarter on quarter, while its cold rolled product production totaled 362,600 mt, down 4.7 percent compared to the previous quarter.