On March 28, London-based Stemcor, the world's largest independent steel trader, announced that in 2010 it achieved a pre-tax profit of £84 million, the highest in its history, though the after-tax profit of £40 million attributable to shareholders was below the 2007 level of £44 million.
"I can report on a solid year in 2010, even though our performance does not yet reflect our true potential," Stemcor's chairman Ralph Oppenheimer said.
Accordingly, with 19 million mt traded, up 25 percent year on year, of which raw materials accounted for 59 percent, Stemcor posted a 45 percent year-on-year increase in its 2010 turnover to £5.1 billion, thus, recovering to pre-recession levels.
According to the company's statement, in 2010 all Stemcor's activities were profitable, with its continental European distribution businesses returning to profit, while its Indian mining subsidiary Aryan Mining (AMTC) doubling its turnover on the back of increased iron ore prices.
"We will continue to invest in the growth of AMTC, whose plans for a beneficiation plant and a further slurry pipeline have been approved in principle by the state government of Orissa. Our central mining team is being enlarged and we are actively looking for further mining and processing projects in which to invest," Mr. Oppenheimer said.
"2011 has commenced strongly for us, although currently there are signs of uncertainty and price weakness, which may have an impact on our profitability as the year progresses. Nevertheless I am hoping for a good year, even better than 2010, and am confident that we are on the right road," the Stemcor chairman concluded.