Ljubljana, 05 April (STA) - The Russian-owned steel and food group SIJ saw its sales revenue exceed EUR 1bn for the time last year, as it rose by about a 20% on 2016 to EUR 1.012bn. Net profit however decreased by about two thirds to EUR 17.6m, show the unaudited results released on Thursday.
Group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at EUR 103.8m, meaning they entered three-digit territory for the second time since 2015.
The EBITDA margin was at 10.2% after it reached 15.1% in 2016, the Ljubljana-based company said in a press release.
The steel division generated EUR 756.1m in sales revenue, a rise of 19.7% year-on-year. At EUR 78.7m, EBITDA was 5.7% higher than in 2016.
Capital expenditure decreased from EUR 70.3m to EUR 53m, which is in accordance with the strategic plans and a slow-down in the 2014-2020 investment cycle which peaked in 2016.
The most important investment was a EUR 30m AOD furnace at Acroni, which is to boost production capacity and competitiveness of stainless steel production.
The food division, comprising the poultry group Perutnina Ptuj, saw its sales revenue increase by 4.8% year-on-year to EUR 257.1m. EBITDA decreased by 5.3% to EUR 24.4m.
Both divisions generated the majority of their revenue on foreign markets: exports, amounting to EUR 821.5, accounted for 81.1% of all revenue.
While EU countries, especially Germany and Italy, were the key markets for the steel segment, the markets of the former Yugoslavia remain crucial for the food division.
SIJ wrote that conditions for business were favourable last year and that forecast are upbeat for EU markets also for this year, with the main challenge remaining cheap steel imports from the east.
SIJ would have been hit significantly by the US steel tariffs, but the EU has been exempt from them.