Peruvian steel producers Aceros Arequipa and Siderperú both saw their fourth quarter earnings affected by slumping steel prices and rising costs.

Aceros Arequipa's fourth quarter profit fell 12.5% to 23.8mn soles (US$8mn) from 27.2mn soles a year earlier, the company said in a corporate filing sent to securities regulator SMV. Sales rose 5% to 614mn soles from 586mn a year ago, while sales and administrative costs rose 7.7%.

Earnings for the full year 2014 tripled to 68.2mn soles, while sales rose 12% to 2.40bn soles, Aceros Arequipa said.

Exports rose to 370mn soles in 2014 from 303mn soles the previous year. Peru mainly exports steel to Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia.

Aceros Arequipa, which is controlled by the local Cilloniz group, completed a US$145mn rolled steel plant last year in the port of Pisco to boost annual production to 1.35Mt/y.

SIDERPERÚ

Siderperú, a unit of Brazilian steel giant Gerdau, posted a 221mn-sol fourth quarter loss compared with an 11.5mn-sol profit a year earlier, the company said in a corporate filing. Sales fell 7.4% to 417mn soles from 450mn soles. Sales and administrative costs jumped 24.8%, the company said.

The steelmaker reported a 205mn-sol loss for the full year 2014 compared with a 1.9mn-sol loss a year earlier, while sales dropped 7.5% to 1.61bn soles. Exports plummeted to 10.1mn soles in 2014 from 83mn soles the previous year, the company said.

Siderperú is studying a US$480mn project to expand steel rolling capacity to 900,000t/y, including a US$253mn electric furnace. The company, which can produce long and flat-steel products at its plant in Áncash region, has liquid steel capacity of 520,000t.

 

Source:http://www.bnamericas.com/

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