Egypt's largest steelmaker Ezz Steel has announced its financial results for the first nine months of the current year, reporting a net loss of EGP 509 million ($64.99 million), compared to a net loss of EGP 461 million in the same period of 2014. The company's sales revenues in the given period amounted to EGP 12.76 billion ($1.63 billion), falling 14 percent year on year. Long steel prices were down three percent, with flat steel prices declining by six percent, both on year-on-year basis.
In the first nine months this year, Ezz Steel's sales, in terms of volume, totaled 2.9 million mt, declining by 10 percent year on year. In the same period, Ezz Steel's long steel production volume amounted to 2.4 million mt, falling 14 percent, while its flat steel production volume decreased by seven percent to 525,677 mt, both year on year.
The company stated that, despite the dramatic effects of the severe shortage of foreign currency and the erratic availability of energy in Egypt during the third quarter of the current year, Ezz Steel was able to implement a number of mitigating measures which allowed it to slightly increase its gross margins. Although no improvement in the global steel sector is expected soon, the company is confident that it will witness a slow but steady recovery in the coming quarters.