Archived article
Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.
Steel producer Ezz Steel swung to an earnings loss on a decline in steel sales.
For the year ended 31 December, the company reported losses before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (LBITDA) of EGP 1.5bn, compared with earnings of EGP 5.4bn on-year.
Sales fell 7% to EGP 45.7bn, driven by a 26% decrease in flat sales, particularly in the export market as protection measures worldwide continued to have a negative effect.
Long sales increased by 1%.
Long steel products accounted for EGP 34.14bn, or 75% of sales in 2019, while flat steel products represented 24% of sales at EGP 10.99bn.
'In the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic started to cast its shadow over the world. Economies contracted worldwide, and with them steel consumption. This will delay the positive value added of the restructuring,' the company said.
'While several countries around the world have started easing lockdown measures, uncertainty remains as to the full economic impact of the global crisis. We expect that the situation may gradually start improving in the second half of the year,' it added.