MOSCOW, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Severstal, Russia's largest steelmaker, posted a surprise third-quarter net profit thanks to a strong performance at its domestic mills and said it was optimistic about its future.
'Greater stability in our primary markets has made us more optimistic on the prospects for the remainder of 2009 and 2010,' Chief Executive Alexei Mordashov said in a statement on Thursday.
'While a Q4 seasonal correction cannot be ruled out, we believe further measured recovery in 2010 is now more likely.'
Severstal said its third-quarter net profit came in at $66 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of $1.31 billion, but well ahead of the $131 million net loss forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.
Steel makers in Russia, the world's fourth-largest producer, have suffered from a slump in orders from key industrial sectors such as auto production and construction since the global economic recession hit late last year.
Severstal has mills in the United States, Britain and Italy as well as in Russia.
While its domestic operations turned a profit thanks to low production costs and a seasonal uptick in construction demand, the U.S. operations lost $78 million at the operating level.
The company's overall earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached $368 million, down from $2.20 billion last year.
Total debt stood at $7.88 billion as of end-September, down from $8.26 billion at the end of last year.
The company also said it had agreed to a covenant amendment to its major banking facility, without providing further details.
(Reporting by Alfred Kueppers; Editing by John Bowker and David Holmes) Keywords: SEVERSTAL/ (alfred.kueppers@thomsonreuters.com; Tel +7 495 775 1242; Reuters Messaging: alfred.kueppers@thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'Greater stability in our primary markets has made us more optimistic on the prospects for the remainder of 2009 and 2010,' Chief Executive Alexei Mordashov said in a statement on Thursday.
'While a Q4 seasonal correction cannot be ruled out, we believe further measured recovery in 2010 is now more likely.'
Severstal said its third-quarter net profit came in at $66 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of $1.31 billion, but well ahead of the $131 million net loss forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.
Steel makers in Russia, the world's fourth-largest producer, have suffered from a slump in orders from key industrial sectors such as auto production and construction since the global economic recession hit late last year.
Severstal has mills in the United States, Britain and Italy as well as in Russia.
While its domestic operations turned a profit thanks to low production costs and a seasonal uptick in construction demand, the U.S. operations lost $78 million at the operating level.
The company's overall earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached $368 million, down from $2.20 billion last year.
Total debt stood at $7.88 billion as of end-September, down from $8.26 billion at the end of last year.
The company also said it had agreed to a covenant amendment to its major banking facility, without providing further details.
(Reporting by Alfred Kueppers; Editing by John Bowker and David Holmes) Keywords: SEVERSTAL/ (alfred.kueppers@thomsonreuters.com; Tel +7 495 775 1242; Reuters Messaging: alfred.kueppers@thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.