16 June 2004 22:49
Severstal looks forward to better Q2 results
MOSCOW. June 16 (Interfax) - Severstal aims to bolster its financial results in the second quarter thanks to higher
contract prices and tighter cost control, Dmitry Druzhinin, the steel major's investor relations manager, said
during an Internet conference.
Rail transport tariffs and interest rates added to Severstal's costs in the first quarter, but the company
expects to improve margins in the second quarter as it ships more metal and gets a better price for it.
Severstal's net profits audited to Russian standards grew 2.8%
year-on-year to 4.419 billion rubles in the first quarter of 2004.
"In addition, senior management has told all divisions to cut or keep costs under control," Druzhinin
said.
Although steel prices have corrected down on some markets, notably China, demand is still high and steel producers
still lack the capacity to meet this in its entirety. So the price forecast for steel products is sill good in
2004-2005, Druzhinin said.
Revenues soared 35.4% to 22.516 billion rubles. [RU ASIA EUROPE EEU EMRG STL CORA RESF] pr
[Interfax] |
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