Austrian steelmaker voestalpine AG has announced its financial results for the first half ended September 30 of the fiscal year 2016-17.
Accordingly, voestalpine's net profit in the first half decreased to €234 million, down 44.5 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year. The revenues of the company amounted to €5.4 billion, down 6.5 percent year on year, mainly due to a weaker price environment and continuing challenging conditions in the oil and natural gas sectors. In the given period, the company's EBITDA was €705 million, decreasing by 21 percent year on year, while the EBITDA margin declined from 15.4 percent in the same period of the previous financial year to 13 percent.
According to the company, it currently appears that the second half of the financial year 2016-17 will see an improvement of EBITDA and EBIT compared to the first six months of the year. This expectation is confirmed by the movement from the first to the second quarter that saw prices recover considerably in the Steel Division’s contract business, resulting in a strong improvement in the division’s and therefore also in the company’s earnings.