Mechel's Chelyabinsk steel works posts 2.6 bln rubles RAS losses in 9M
CHELYABINSK. Nov 17 (Interfax) - The Mechel coal and steel group's flagship enterprise, Chelyabinsk Iron & Steel Works (CHMK) , closed January-September 2009 with net losses of 2.626 billion rubles to Russian Accounting Standards (RAS), compared with profit of 10.514 billion rubles in the same period of last year, the company said in a financial statement.
It said losses arose due to a drop in output caused by the economic crisis and lower prices for sold goods.
Revenue fell 43% year-on-year to 41.43 billion rubles, due to lower prices for sold goods and the exchange rate.
CHMK financial highlights, '000 rubles:
| 9M 2009 | 9M 2008 | |
| Sales revenue | 41 431 105 | 73 126 547 |
| Cost of sales | 38 316 618 | 54 249 900 |
| Gross profit | 3 114 487 | 18 876 647 |
| Operating profit | 670 382 | 15 661 978 |
| Pretax profit (loss) | (3 216 027) | 14 025 987 |
| Net profit (loss) | (2 626 354) | 10 513 968 |
Short-term receivables doubled to 24.6 billion rubles from 11.8 billion rubles during the 9M, while payables grew from 7.69 billion rubles to 7.77 billion rubles.
Mechel has metals, coal, power and transport assets in Russia, Romania, Lithuania and Kazakhstan.
The group's South Urals Nickel, which mines nickel fields in the Chelyabinsk and Orenburg regions, reduced net profit 74.4% year-on-year in the 9M to 186.77 million rubles. Sales revenue fell 37.5% to 4.82 billion rubles.
The company reduced nickel sales 17.8% and nickel prices fell 22.6%.
However gross profit and operating profit grew in Q3 compared with Q2 as nickel prices averaged up 40.9%.
Stainless steel producer Izhstal, from Udmurtia, closed the 9M with net losses of 727.935 million rubles, compared with profit of 874.184 million rubles in the same period of last year due to lower output.
Sales revenue shrank 94.4% year-on-year to 874.184 million rubles.
Iron ore producer Korshunov GOK , from the Irkutsk region, saw its net profit to RAS shrink 91.7% year-on-year to 388 million rubles and revenue fall 57% to 3.79 billion rubles as iron ore prices fell.