Aperam reduced shipments by 8.7% y/y in January-September

French stainless steelmaker Aperam reduced shipments by 6.2% q/q – to 516 thousand tons in July-September 2023 due to continued low demand in Europe. Compared to the same period last year, they increased by 1.5%. This is stated in the company’s financial report for the third quarter.

In 9 months, shipments decreased by 8.7% year-on-year – to 1.65 million tons. This is stated in the company’s report for the third quarter of 2023.

The company’s sales revenues in the third quarter of 2023 decreased by 14% q/q and 19.5% y/y – to €1.46 billion. For the first 9 months of 2023, this figure fell by 22.9% – to €5.04 billion.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in the third quarter of 2023 decreased to €19 million compared to €235 million in the same period of 2022. In January-September 2023, it amounted to €249 million, compared to €1 billion in the third quarter of 2022.

«Europe remains in the grip of an extremely difficult market situation, characterized by both historically low prices and volumes. The modernization of production facilities had an additional impact on the company. Production disruptions and unusually high inventory valuation costs resulted in the lowest EBITDA in the company’s history,» said Timoteo Di Maulo, CEO of Aperam.

As the company notes, the prospects for the fourth quarter depend on the future development of prices for metal and products – both indicators are considered unchanged at the current level.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in March 2023, Aperam reported on plans to invest in the modernization of its capacities in order to reduce energy consumption by 30%. Investments are designed to improve the balance of energy resources and reduce the impact of price fluctuations. The latter factor has had a big impact on the company, especially as it reaches peak values ​​in the summer of 2022.