Egypt's largest steelmaker Ezz Steel has announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2017, reporting a net loss of EGP 521 million ($29 million), compared to a net loss of EGP 137 million in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company's sales revenues in the given quarter amounted to EGP 8.11 billion ($450 million), falling 63.33 percent year on year.
In the first quarter, Ezz Steel's consolidated sales, in terms of volume, totaled 995,000 mt, down 16 percent year on year. In the period in question, Ezz Steel's long steel production volume amounted to 673,000 mt, down 34 percent, while its flat steel production volume increased by 89 percent to 321,000 mt, both year on year.
“During the first quarter of 2017, Ezz Steel suffered from a very low rate of utilization of its production capacities due to an acute shortage in working capital facilities deriving from the significant devaluation of the Egyptian currency. As a consequence, the tonnage of steel produced and sold fell short of absorbing all relevant costs which led to an overall negative bottom line,” said Paul Chekaiban, chairman and managing director of Ezz Steel.