Australian steelmaker BlueScope Steel has posted a net profit of A$441.2 million for the first half ended on December 31 of the financial year 2017-18, increasing compared to the net profit of A$359.1 million in the same period of the previous financial year.
When the same periods are compared, BlueScope's sales revenues increased by seven percent to A$5.47 billion, due to higher steel prices in all segments and increased sales volumes in the Australian Steel Products and New Zealand and Pacific Steel segments. In the given period, BlueScope’s underlying EBIT decreased by 11 percent year on year to A$516.8 million, mainly due to lower spreads with raw material input costs rising more than steel prices combined with higher costs.
For the second half of the financial year 2017-18, the company expects a stronger result overall. After deducting the one-off benefit of the A$32.1 million coal settlement from the underlying EBIT of the first half, the company expects second half underlying EBIT to be around 25 percent higher, subject to market conditions.