(Reuters) -Swedish steelmaker SSAB reported a 57% drop in its first-quarter operating profit on Tuesday, pressured by weak market conditions and lower prices in North America.
Its operating profit slumped to 1.35 billion Swedish crowns ($140.29 million) in the January-March quarter from 3.16 billion crowns a year earlier.
In addition to pressure from inexpensive Chinese steel and elevated energy expenses, European steelmakers are now contending with increased U.S. import duties.
SSAB, which operates steel businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, however, said in a statement that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs did not impact its business during the latest quarter, as it benefits from having production facilities close to major customers both in Europe and the U.S.
Nonetheless, the company said that due to tariffs, the outlook for its steel divisions for the second quarter is “more uncertain than usual”.
The specialized high-strength steels producer expects shipments by its Special Steels, Europe and Americas divisions to be “somewhat higher” this quarter than in the previous one.
However, it cautioned prices would vary across the three divisions — from “stable” for Special Steels to “somewhat higher” in the European unit and “significantly higher” in the Americas unit.
Raw material costs should be “stable” in the Special Steels and European units and “somewhat higher” in the Americas division, SSAB said. ($1 = 9.6232 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Marta Frąckowiak in Gdansk; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Savio D’Souza)
