Spanish stainless steel producer Acerinox S.A. has stated that it has adopted a new strategic plan aimed at boosting its competitiveness with new continuous projects, including digital transformation and innovation.
In line with this, in the first half of this year the company invested €3 million to improve its equipment, €9 million to increase efficiency at its cold rolling mill and to optimize raw material use, €3 million to optimize and manage energy costs, €2 million in development and sales of new types of high value-added steel products, and another €400,000 in decarbonization.
Meanwhile, Acerinox has also announced its financial and operational results for the second quarter and the first half of the current year.
In the given quarter, the company reported a net profit of €62 million, up by 17.0 percent quarter on quarter and down by 57.0 percent year on year, while its net sales amounted to €1.30 billion, decreasing by 12.3 percent quarter on quarter and by 25.3 percent year on year. Acerinox also said that its EBITDA in the second quarter this year moved up by 13.0 percent compared to the previous quarter and fell by 47.0 percent from the same period of last year to €125 million.
In the same quarter, the company’s crude steel production decreased by 12.7 percent quarter on quarter and by 17.0 percent year on year to 384,000 mt. Acerinox’s hot rolled product output rose by 15.6 percent compared to the previous quarter and by three percent year on year to 37,000 mt, while its cold rolled product production totaled 247,000 mt, down by 12.4 percent quarter on quarter and by 19.0 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, in the first half of this year, the company’s net profit amounted to €114 million, down by 59 percent year on year, while its net sales dropped by 21.0 percent year on year to €2.78 billion. Acerinox’s EBITDA in the given period went down by 49.0 percent compared to the same period of 2023 to €236 million.
In the January-June period, the company’s crude steel production decreased by 16.0 percent year on year to 824,000 mt. In the meantime, Acerinox’s hot rolled product output dropped by 11.0 year on year to 70,000 mt, while its cold rolled product production totaled 529,000 mt, down by 14.0 percent year on year.
According to its statement, after signing an agreement with its workers and ending five months of strike action on June 21, Acerinox has resumed its operations with a new production model that is tailored to current market needs and the strategy set out by the group. This model will contribute to implementing the strategy to alleviate the economic losses accumulated over the last few years.