Acerinox improved its quarterly results between January and March 2024, with a significant decrease in debt (107 million) over the previous quarter.
Quarterly EBITDA, totaling 111 million euros, was 15% higher than in the last three months of 2023. EBITDA margin was 7%. Revenue in the first quarter, 1,481 million euros, was 3% lower than the previous quarter due to fewer shipments.
Profit after tax and non-controlling interests amounted to 53 million euros (in the fourth quarter of 2023, after impairment of Bahru Stainless’s assets, it was –119 million euros).
Operating cash flow was 188 million euros, helped by the reduction in working capital of 63 million euros.
Outlook
The American market and the high-performance-alloys market remain stable, while that in Europe has not improved even with the reduction in supply.
Despite the company’s efforts to resolve the conflict at Acerinox Europa, there are no guarantees that it will be resolved in the short term.
Given these circumstances, and in view of our order book, we expect EBITDA to be slightly higher in the second quarter than in the first.
Investments of more than 300 million underway:
1.NAS will increase production by over 20%
The investment plan for North American Stainless (NAS), the largest integrated stainless steel factory in the United States, remains on course. The Group will increase its sales by 20%. The expansion at NAS will allow the company to keep pace with market growth in the coming years.
This investment will amount to 244 million and the resulting activity is planned to begin at the end of 2025. The new equipment will aim to increase the volume of flat products, with a special focus on increased production of higher-value-added goods.
