MOSCOW, August 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russian steel giant Novolipetsk Steel’s US GAAP net profit fell by 84 percent in January-June 2013 year-on-year to $72 million, the company said Monday, citing unfavorable market conditions.
This was below a consensus forecast of analysts polled by Prime business news agency, who predicted the company’s net financial results would hit $141 million.
The company's revenue fell by 10 percent in the reporting period to $5.685 billion, while Earnings before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) shrank 30 percent to $718 million, with the EBITDA margin down to 12.6 percent from 16.2 percent a year earlier.
The company's net debt decreased by 4 percent to $3.424 billion.
“In Q3, conditions in the steel product market remain challenging. Prices for steel products in a number of regions continued to fall, and the pricing environment remains volatile,” Novolipetsk Steel CFO Grigory Fedorishin was quoted as saying in a statement.
“Novolipetsk Steel will continue to optimize its cost structure along the entire process chain to offset the negative impact of market factors and cost inflation,” the statement said.