Italian steel plant maker Danieli reported improved sales for 2008/09, but warned the next three years were likely to be tough.

Its sales revenue for the year was €3209.8M up from €3115M the year before.

However, it forecast a drop to €2500M for the year 2009/10 as a result of this year’s financial crisis. Its backlog of orders has covered it through the crisis but it said finding news customers and orders for new steel plants has been difficult which has resulted in the lower forecast for the next few years.

Decline
Danieli’s steelmaking business has suffered as a result of the decline in the European market, with demand down by 40-50%. In a statement it said: “We do not expect 2010 to be a good year for steelmakers in the USA or Europe, unlike the BRIC countries where business is looking up. Under these circumstances plant making should see a drop in revenue and orders for the next years,” it said in a statement.

It said up to 98% of plants in China are built locally, a situation which is of only partial benefit to its factories in China.

Speciality steel
Most of the Danieli divisions reported positive results during the release of its financial results at its Buttrio, near Udine, Italy headquarters.

However, its ABS speciality steel products group reported a €20.6M loss caused by the fall in global steel demand. Steel production was down in the first six months of 2009. Total shipments for the year were 670kt compared to more than 1.1Mt the year before. Thanks to temporary layoffs and reduced operating and overhead costs it had contained losses.

The order book on June 30, 2009 was around 145kt but said, thanks to a range of new products, its financial results for the next financial year would be more satisfactory.

Quality
Highlights included its Thai DFE manufacturing plant which reached a high level of productivity and said its quality of machines produced was practically the same as its Buttrio plant.

It is assembling the world’s largest EAF for Toyko Steel, in Japan. It has expanded into building the civil works of plants to be more competitive in turnkey plants and better limit costs and development time.

*For a more in-depth profile of Danieli and its financial results please see the Jan/Feb 2010 edition of Steel Times International.