Swiss-based special steel producer and distributor Schmolz+Bickenbach has announced its financial results for the first quarter of the current year, registering a net profit of €12.4 million, compared to the net loss of €7.7 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The company's sales revenues amounted to €871.6 million, rising slightly by 0.5 percent year on year, with the sales volume increasing 9.6 percent year on year to 581,000 mt.
Schmolz+Bickenbach stated that the fact that revenue failed to match the growth rate of its sales volume is mainly attributable to lower commodity prices compared to the first quarter of 2013, which are passed on to customers via scrap and alloy surcharges, and a low level of base prices.
Schmolz+Bickenbach remains cautiously optimistic for the fiscal year 2014. The 571,000 mt order backlog achieved in the first quarter of 2014 will ensure good capacity utilization for the second quarter and leading into the third. Base prices seem to have bottomed out, bringing the prospect of price increases in some areas.