Steel manufacturer SSAB's profit decreases sharply. The company is also flagging a tough finish to 2024.
Just as the market predicted, SSAB is reporting a significant profit drop. The profit before tax of nearly 3.1 billion kronor was significantly worse than the same period last year (5 billion kronor) but in line with expectations. According to Bloomberg's compilation, analysts had predicted a profit of exactly 3.1 billion kronor.
The turnover also dropped, from 32.8 billion to nearly 28.3 billion kronor, due to, among other things, lower prices.
"The decline compared to last year was mainly due to lower heavy plate prices in the USA. The European market was still relatively weak, while the market for high-strength steel was more stable," says CEO Martin Lindqvist in the interim report.
In addition, the extensive strike in Finland has also affected the company with a negative impact of approximately 125 million kronor.
Regarding the third quarter, the company now estimates that deliveries in the Europe business area will be lower, while the business area referred to as "Americas" will be significantly lower.
"Most of SSAB's production sites will carry out planned maintenance during the third quarter and thereby adapt production and deliveries to lower demand," writes CEO Martin Lindqvist.
SSAB is one of the worst-performing stocks this year on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, with a decline of 26 percent, while the OMXS index has risen by around 10 percent.
