Evraz posts EBITDA of $577 mln in H1, below forecast
MOSCOW. Aug 18 (Interfax) - Evraz, a major Russian steel and mining company, reported EBITDA to IFRS down 38.1% year-on-year to $577 million in the first half of 2016, which was below the Interfax consensus forecast of $589 million.
In comparison with H2 2015, the metallurgical company's EBITDA rose 11.8%.
EBITDA margin in the reporting period amounted to 16.3% against 18.8% in H1 2015.
The group's revenue for H1 reached $3.543 billion, down 27.6% year-on-year and down 8.5% in comparison with H2 2015. Analysts questioned by Interfax expected this figure at $3.602 billion.
Evraz's net profit amounted to $7 million in the reporting period against $19 million in H1 2015. Analysts expected net profit at $121 million.
Net cash flow reached $533 million, down 33.7% year-on-year. Free cash flow amounted to $102 million.
Capex fell 20.3% year-on-year in January-June to $200 million.
Evraz's total debt fell by $540 million in the reporting period and amounted to $6.184 billion, net debt fell by $33 million to $5.316 billion. The net debt to EBITDA ratio rose to 4.9 against 3.7 as at the end of 2015.
The company also said that as a result of the program for raising the efficiency of production and cutting costs, the company managed to reduce spending by $138 million.
"Overall, the first half of 2016 can be divided into two distinct parts for Evraz and the sector. In the first quarter conditions were largely unchanged from the end of 2015, but in the second quarter, steel market conditions improved, and the group demonstrated a stronger performance, largely due to a supportive pricing environment in its main markets," the statement cited Evraz CEO Alexander Frolov as saying.
"Evraz remains focused on net debt reduction and refinancing. The group has extended the overall duration of its debt and will comfortably cover maturities in 2016 and 2017 using a combination of currently available liquidity and future free cash flow generation," he said.
"Given the higher prices and stronger domestic demand in the second quarter, Evraz's outlook for the rest of the year is cautiously optimistic," Frolov said.
