Brazil’s steelmaker Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) total steel and mining sales increased year-on-year in the first quarter, due to higher steel sales in the domestic market and higher iron ore sales in the international market.
CSN’s steel sales increased by 16pc to 1.31mn mt in Q1 2021, from 1.14mn mt in the same quarter last year, and iron ore sales climbed by 47pc to 8.22mn mt in this quarter, from 5.61mn mt in Q1 2020, the steelmaker said in its earnings statement released on Apr 28, without disclosing its crude steel production.
The company’s slab output increased by 6pc to 1mn mt in the first three months of 2021, from 943,000mt produced the same period the prior year. Tin plate production remained flat to 930,000mt in Q1 2021, from 928,000mt last year, and its long steel production rose by 3.9pc from 53,000mt in this quarter, from 51,000mt in Q1 2020.
The company posted a net profit of BRL5.69bn ($1.05bn) in Q1 2021, from a net loss of BRL1.31bn in the same three-month period last year. The company’s adjusted Ebitda reached BRL5.80bn during the first quarter of 2021, up from BRL1.33bn in Q1 2020.
CSN invested BRL410mn in Q1 in its steel and mining units, down from BRL519mn invested in Q1 2020, it said, adding that despite the fall in investments year-on-year in Q1 it maintains its guidance for this year and is expected to accelerate investments in the coming quarters.
($1=BRL5.42)