Swiss-based special steel producer and distributor Schmolz+Bickenbach has announced its financial results for 2013, registering a net loss of €83.7 million, narrowing down from the net loss of €162.8 million in the previous year. The company's sales revenues amounted to €3.27 billion, declining 8.5 percent year on year, impacted by the declining level of base prices and alloy surcharges. In 2013, the company's sales volume increased by a slight margin of 0.5 percent year on year to 2.05 million mt, in an environment that became more and more challenging over the course of the year.
Schmolz+Bickenbach stated that, based on recent forecasts for the global economy and the relevant sectors and markets, the company has begun 2014 with cautious optimism, starting the first quarter with a higher order backlog of 452,000 mt. The company's order backlog increased further to 552,000 mt by the end of February. Overall, Schmolz+Bickenbach expects its sales volume to increase by 2-5 percent year on year in 2014.
According to Schmolz+Bickenbach, sales revenue should exceed the prior-year level by 2-5 percent as well, although this forecast is even more uncertain due to the limited predictability of surcharges for scrap and alloying elements as well as exchange rates. The company expects an EBITDA of €190-230 million in 2014.