ENRC first-half profit up

• IBTimes RSS
• Print
• E-Mail
• digg
• Del.icio.us

The group, the world's largest producer of ferrochrome, said EPS before exceptional items increased to $1.04 in the first six months of the year from 40 cents last year, helped by strong metal prices and higher output.

The firm, which floated on the London stock exchange in December, proposed a maiden dividend of 12 cents per share.

ENRC said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items rose 170 percent to $2.15 billion (1.15 billion pounds) on 86 percent higher revenue of $3.44 billion.

"Despite macroeconomic uncertainties, we expect higher commodity prices to hold. We anticipate a very strong performance from the group in the second half of 2008," Chief Executive Johannes Sittard said in a statement.

The underlying cost of sales increased 15 percent, lower than inflation in Kazakhstan of 20 percent.

"Although we achieved a good control of costs in the first half, we expect cost pressures to prevail through the second half of 2008 and into 2009," Sittard said.

The bottom line at ENRC, also the sixth-largest iron ore exporter by volume, has been boosted by sharp rises in the price of ferrochrome and iron ore driven by heavy demand from China.

Annual contract prices for iron ore this year soared 65-97 percent while third-quarter ferrochrome prices gained 7 percent to touch another record after jumping 60 percent in the second quarter.

ENRC released production data on August 6 showing first-half ferrochrome production rose 12 percent to 567,000 tonnes, including newly-acquired Serov of Russia, and iron ore output gained 7 percent to 19.5 million tonnes.

• 1
• 2