Swiss-based special steel producer and distributor Schmolz+Bickenbach has announced its financial results for the third quarter and the first nine months of the current year.
In the third quarter, Schmolz+Bickenbach recorded a net loss of €7 million, compared to a net loss of €13.9 million recorded in the same quarter of the previous year. In the third quarter, the company’s sales revenues increased by 14.4 percent to €611 million, while its sales volume amounted to 405,000 mt, up by 3.6 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
Meanwhile, in the first nine months of the current year, the company registered a net profit of €19.5 million, compared to the net loss of €35.9 million in the first nine months of 2016. The company's sales revenues amounted to €2.01 billion, rising by 14.9 percent year on year, with the sales volume increasing 3.1 percent year on year to 1.36 million mt.
The company stated that, after the normal seasonal slowdown in business activity during the summer months, it had a good restart without any signs of a slowdown in its core markets. The automotive industry is expected to remain on its growth path for the remainder of the year, while the mechanical and plant engineering industry will support a solid development in the fourth quarter. In contrast, the oil and gas industry has limited momentum. On the raw material side, prices for scrap and nickel moved up again after a consolidation phase in the second quarter. Overall, raw material prices are expected to stay at higher levels compared to the average prices of the previous year. Higher prices for graphite electrodes and refractories could threaten the current favorable environment in the coming quarters.
Schmolz+Bickenbach expects to improve its financial results in full year of 2017 as the order backlog is strong and the fundamentals in most customer industries are robust.