Latin American steel giant Ternium announced reductions in sales volume and revenue in the third quarter of the year; however, it reported net income of $93 million, a figure that contrasted with the net losses of $783 million in the third quarter of last year, according to the company's financial statements reviewed by SteelOrbis.
According to the financial report, steel shipments decreased marginally with a drop of 0.2 percent to 4.12 million metric tons (mt) in the third quarter, lower than the 4.13 million mt of the same period last year. Total sales of the steel business totaled $4.37 million, 13.3 percent less than the $5.04 million of the third quarter of last year.
Despite lower revenue from total sales, the cost of sales decreased at a slower rate. Thus, Ternium's gross profit plummeted 41.8 percent and operating profit decreased 66.8 percent. In the given period, the company was able to reverse losses from the third quarter of last year, registering a net profit of $93 million. EBITDA for the third quarter was $368 million, down 47.3 percent. The EBITDA margin decreased 5.2 percentage points from 13.4 percent to 8.2 percent.
Ternium expects a slight sequential increase in adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2024 due to better margins partially offset by a decrease in shipments. A decrease in apparent demand is anticipated in Mexico and Brazil due to the typical end-of-year seasonality. It also anticipated a continued decrease in the cost per ton, as a result of a gradual consumption of slabs and raw material inventories at lower prices. However, a decrease in sales prices is expected in the fourth quarter compared to those of the third quarter of 2024, mainly due to the reset of quarterly contracts with industrial clients in Mexico at lower levels.