Turkish integrated steelmaker Erdemir Group has announced a net profit of TRY 168.09 million ($59.31 million) for the first quarter of the current year, falling 51.4 percent year on year, while the company's sales revenues amounted to TRY 2.57 billion ($909.22 million), down 11 percent compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The company's operating income in the first quarter this year decreased by 56.87 percent year on year to TRY 218.2 million ($77 million).
Regarding the operational results, in the first quarter Erdemir Group produced 2.32 million mt of crude steel, up 13.2 percent, including 956,000 mt of crude steel produced at the Eregli works, down 0.8 percent, and 1.36 million mt at the Iskenderun works, up 26 percent, all year on year.
In the first quarter this year, the flat steel output of Erdemir Group remained almost stable at 1.82 million mt, while the company's long steel output amounted to 396,000 mt, up 63.6 percent, both year on year. Additionally, in the given quarter Erdemir Group's flat steel sales volumes increased by eight percent year on year to 1.9 million mt, while its long steel sales volumes rose by 64 percent year on year to 398,000 mt.
In the January-March period, Erdemir Group exported 234,000 mt of steel products, including 191,000 mt of flat steel and 43,000 mt of long steel, accounting for 10 percent of total sales. In the given period, the steel producer exported flat products to 28 countries and long products to eight countries.
Erdemir Group has stated that for the full year of 2016 it expects its EBITDA margin to be between 15 and 17 percent, compared to the 17.6 percent recorded in 2015. Meanwhile, in the current year, the company plans to invest $461 million in various projects.