Steel plant ArcelorMittal Galati, owned by Indian billionaireLakshmi MIttal, set a record hard to beat by any Romanian company,that is a 334 million-euro (1.4 billion RON) loss last year,accounting for 40% of the same year's business, 845.7 millioneuros, (3.58 billion RON).
This was caused by the over 50% business decline, given the slumpin the sales of steel worldwide as a result of the crisis, and thecollapse of the steel price. The company exports most of itsoutput.
The steel mill's losses are the highest ever posted by a localcompany, and are worse even than the results before privatisation,when it was losing one million dollars a day and was regarded as ablack hole in the economy. Mittal's attempt to slash costs bymaking more than 4,000 people redundant did not help stave offlosses, either.
"Losses should not be a surprise to anybody, because in Galati theywork 24 hours a day and whether there is production going or not,the furnaces are on and people are in the factory, which is whycosts are high. When things go well, however, the plant makes400-500 million dollars in annual profit," explained Petru Ianc,director with the Economy Ministry and steel industry expert.
The management in Galati represented by Thierry le Gall had notprovided any comment on the results by edition close.
In 2008, when the market was still booming, the business of theplant in Galati came close to 2 billion euros, and profit stood at165 million euros. Last year, no company among the top ten playersin the steel industry of Romania posted profit. The four localplants controlled by Mittal recorded 424 million-euro lossestogether.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
