Although the situation in the steel sector remains challenging, as the demand and consumption cannot reach the pre-pandemic level, some signs of recovery are seen in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Iron & Steel Company (Hadeed SABIC), the key local steelmaker, managed to take advantage of strong pricing and improved its financial performance in Q1.
Hadeed SABIC managed to capitalise on a favourable price situation in Q1, which translated into healthier income. The company’s revenue increased by 8% to SAR 2.98 billion ($0.79 million ) year-on-year over the reported period, according to the official statement.
The figures strengthen by 27% compared to Q4 2020. “SABIC’s financial performance has seen a positive start to 2021.
The first quarter saw rising oil prices and a tight supply and demand balance, further impacted by heavy turnarounds and storm Uri in the US. These elements, combined with growing demand as the global economy continues to recover, resulted in higher prices and margins for most of our products,” Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan, SABIC vice chairman and CEO, underlined.
Despite that, the drop in consumption continues to hamper positive developments in the steel segment of Saudi Arabia. Although the sales volumes in the first three months of 2021 were similar to those for the previous quarter, it was enough to return to back.
Hadeed SABIC posted an operating profit of SAR 0.33 billion ($0.09 million) in January-March 2021 versus losses in Q4 2020 and Q1 2020.
$1 = SAR 3.75
