MOSCOW, March 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russian steelmaker Severstal's 2012 IFRS net profit fell 62.6 percent year-on-year to $762 million, the company said on Wednesday, citing weaker demand and falling prices for the result.
That was below a consensus forecast of analysts polled by Prime news agency, who predicted the company’s net financial result at $968 million.
Severstal's revenue for the year fell by 10.8 percent to $14.104 billion compared with the analysts’ forecast of $14.106 billion while EBITDA plummeted by 40.9 percent to $2.119 billion compared with a forecast $2.133 billion, and the EBITDA margin was down to 15 percent, from 22.7 percent in 2011.
Severstal posted a net loss of $150 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with a third quarter net profit of $329 million.
“Global economic conditions remain uncertain for the steel industry," Severstal CEO Alexei Mordashov said. "However we believe that we could see some improvements over 2013 in steel, iron ore and coking coal demand. We will continue to do our best to maintain a prudent investment profile and maximize cash generation."
Severstal is one of the world's largest steelmakers, with operations in Russia, Ukraine, the United States and Europe.
