Spanish stainless steel producer Acerinox S.A. has reported a net profit of €234.14 million for the full year of 2017, compared to a net profit of €80.3 million 2016, while its net sales came to €4.62 billion, rising 16.5 percent year on year, due to the rebound in stainless steel prices. The company’s EBITDA in the same year increased by 48.5 percent year on year to €488.8 million.
In 2017, Acerinox’s hot rolled product output came to 2.23 million mt, increasing by one percent year on year, while the company attained the highest production volume in its history in cold rolled product production with 1.738 million mt, rising 1.3 percent compared to the previous year.
Acerinox stated that the recent tax reform in the US will have a clearly positive effect on its results. However, to anticipate the behavior of the group in the current year, it will be necessary to be very aware of the possible protectionist measures in the US, of the reaction of Europe and other countries in the event of these measures being adopted, and of the management of the excess of production capacity, especially in Asia. In addition, flexibility, efficiency and control of costs will be key factors that will determine the results of Acerinox in 2018, for which the company trusts in the increase in its competitiveness achieved during recent years and in its current improvement plans.