2015-11-05 08:00:00 CET

2015-11-05 08:00:04 CET


REGULATED INFORMATION

Finnish English
Outokumpu Oyj - Interim report (Q1 and Q3)

Outokumpu reports EUR -67 million underlying EBIT for the third quarter of 2015: Weak profitability in difficult markets, strong operating cash flow


OUTOKUMPU OYJ
INTERIM REPORT
November 5, 2015 at 9.00 am EET

Underlying EBIT of EUR -67 million. Weak profitability in difficult markets,
strong operating cash flow 

Highlights in the third quarter 2015

Outokumpu's underlying EBIT was EUR -67 million, compared to EUR -25 million in
the second quarter of 2015. The decline in profitability was driven by weak
markets and lower deliveries particularly in Coil EMEA, while Coil Americas'
profitability showed some improvement. Operating cash flow was EUR 67 million,
and net debt was reduced by EUR 104 million. 

  -- Stainless steel deliveries were 570,000 tonnes1) (II 2015: 616,000 tonnes).
  -- Underlying EBITDA 2) was EUR 13 million (II 2015: EUR 57 million) and
     underlying EBIT2) was EUR -67 million (II 2015: EUR -25 million). The
     decline was driven by lower delivery volumes, downward pressure on base
     prices and higher scrap costs.
  -- EBIT was EUR -77 million (II 2015: EUR -26 million). The net effect of raw
     material-related inventory and metal derivative gains/losses was EUR -8
     million (II 2015: EUR -1 million). EBIT includes non-recurring items of EUR
     -2 million in the third quarter (II 2015: no non-recurring items).
  -- Operating cash flow was EUR 67 million (II 2015: EUR -41 million).
  -- Net debt decreased to EUR 2,012 million (June 30, 2015: EUR 2,116 million)
     and gearing was 96.5% (June 30, 2015: 96.4%).
  -- On September 30, Outokumpu announced the divestment of 50% stake in Fischer
     Mexicana joint venture for USD 63 million. The closing is expected in the
     fourth quarter of 2015.
  -- After the review period on October 19, Outokumpu announced the divestment
     of 55% of SKS shares in China. The cash value of the transaction is about
     EUR 370 million. Fischer Mexicana and SKS divestments combined are
     estimated to reduce Outokumpu's net debt by about EUR 460 million and
     gearing by 37 percentage points in the fourth quarter.
  -- After the review period on October 26, Outokumpu announced the appointment
     of Roeland Baan as President and CEO of Outokumpu as of January 1, 2016.
     Mika Seitovirta stepped down from the CEO position with immediate effect,
     and Reinhard Florey, Outokumpu CFO is now the interim CEO until Baan joins
     the company.

1) Metric ton = 1,000 kg
2)  EBIT/EBITDA excluding non-recurring items, raw material-related inventory
gains/losses and metal derivative gains/losses 

Group key figures                                                               
                                                  III/15   II/15  III/14    2014
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sales                                        EUR   1,487   1,694   1,799   6,844
                                         million                                
EBITDA                                       EUR       3      55      67     104
                                         million                                
EBITDA excl. non-recurring items             EUR       6      55      79     263
                                         million                                
Underlying EBITDA 1)                         EUR      13      57      48     232
                                         million                                
EBIT                                         EUR     -77     -26      -9    -243                                   million                                
EBIT excl. non-recurring items               EUR     -74     -26       3     -57
                                         million                                
Underlying EBIT 2)                           EUR     -67     -25     -28     -88
                                         million                                
Result before taxes                          EUR    -113     -65     -73    -459
                                         million                                
Net result for the period                    EUR    -115     -62     -77    -439
                                         million                                
Earnings per share 3)                        EUR   -0.27   -0.14   -0.18   -1.24
Return on capital employed                     %    -7.6    -2.5    -0.8    -5.8
Net cash generated from operating            EUR      67     -41      23    -126
 activities                              million                                
Net debt at the end of period                EUR   2,012   2,116   2,068   1,974
                                         million                                
Debt-to-equity ratio at the end of             %    96.5    96.4    96.4    92.6
 period                                                                         
Capital expenditure                          EUR      29      35      25     127
                                         million                                
Stainless steel deliveries 4)              1,000     570     616     634   2,554
                                          tonnes                                
Stainless steel base price 5)          EUR/tonne   1,060   1,057   1,110   1,082
Personnel at the end of period, excluding summer  11,560  11,665  12,385  12,125
 trainees 6)                                                                    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) EBITDA excluding non-recurring items, other than impairments; raw            
 material-related inventory gains/losses and metal derivative                   
gains/losses, unaudited.                                                        
2) EBIT excluding non-recurring items, raw material-related inventory           
 gains/losses and metal derivative gains/losses, unaudited.                     
3) 2014 figures calculated based on the                                         
 rights-issue-adjusted weighted average number of                               
 shares.                                                                        
4) Excludes ferrochrome deliveries.                                             
5) Stainless steel: CRU - German base price (2                                  
 mm cold rolled 304 sheet).                                                     
6) On June 30, 2015 Group employed in addition                                  
 some 800 summer trainees.                                                      

Business and financial outlook for the fourth quarter of 2015

Outokumpu estimates the current subdued stainless steel market situation to
continue for the rest of the year, even though the end-user demand outside the
Oil & Gas sector is expected to remain healthy. Stock levels among distributors
are expected to gradually decrease, but there is no significant rebound in
buying activity short-term with the nickel price remaining low and distributors
typically curtailing their buying and managing their inventories towards
year-end. Import pressure in both Europe and USA is likely to persist. 

While Outokumpu expects continued progress in the ongoing profitability
improvement programs, market uncertainties warrant prudence in the outlook
statement. Outokumpu estimates fourth-quarter delivery volumes to be at a
similar level as in the third quarter. The Group's underlying EBIT for the
fourth quarter is estimated to be still at a loss. With current prices, the net
impact of raw material-related inventory and metal derivative gains/losses on
profitability is expected to be approximately EUR 40-50 million negative. This
outlook reflects the current scope of operations without the announced
divestments and includes the change in estimated useful lives of property,
plant and equipment with a positive impact of approximately EUR 7 million on
underlying EBIT in the fourth quarter. For additional details on the change see
page 19 in the report. 

The divestments of the Fischer Mexicana joint venture stake and the 55% share
in SKS are planned to be completed in the fourth quarter. The one-time positive
impact of these transactions on the Group net result is estimated to be about
EUR 360 million in total. 

Outokumpu's operating result may be impacted by non-recurring items associated
with the ongoing restructuring programs. 

Reinhard Florey, Outokumpu CFO and interim CEO:

“The stainless steel market was very difficult in the third quarter. In
addition to the normal seasonal weakness, the market suffered from the
extremely low nickel price: the 9,500 USD/tonne in August was the lowest in six
years, and it has continued to trade around 10,000 USD/tonne since then. This
showed as weak demand and continued destocking among distributors, even though
the underlying end-customer demand has remained healthy in both Europe and the
Americas. While destocking is expected to continue for the rest of the year,
the strength of underlying demand gives us confidence in the eventual turn of
the stock cycle. 

Our third-quarter operational performance was a clear disappointment. Due to
the weak market and low volumes, Coil EMEA fell behind the targets. Coil
Americas improved, but in the challenging market conditions the turnaround is
slow. In Quarto Plate the pace of profitability improvements has not been
sufficient at all. As a Group, we recorded an underlying EBIT loss of EUR -67
million compared to EUR -25 million in the second quarter. We estimate that the
subdued market conditions will prevail for the rest of the year. Against this
backdrop we estimate that the fourth-quarter delivery volumes will be on a
similar level as in the third quarter, and the underlying EBIT to be still at a
loss. 

Despite the challenging operating environment, we have decisively continued to
streamline our costs, improve our operational efficiency and strengthen our
financial position. We achieved a positive EBITDA and cash flows during the
quarter. Our net debt came down to EUR 2.0 billion, gearing was stable at 96.5%
and liquidity amounted to EUR 1.3 billion. All these are important for
Outokumpu's financial stability. 

As part of our deleveraging efforts, we continued to divest non-core assets. We
have signed two agreements: one to divest our joint venture stake in Fischer
Mexicana and the other to divest the 55% of our shares in the SKS mill in
China. We expect to complete these transactions by the year-end and thereby
significantly reduce our net debt and enhance financial stability further. 

We are entering the next phase of development with a new leader: Roeland Baan
has been appointed as the President and CEO of Outokumpu as of January 1, 2016.
In the meantime, we continue to serve our customers in core markets with
increased efforts, and determinedly drive the ongoing efficiency measures and
cost savings to improve the financial performance of the company.” 

Conference call on Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 3.00 pm EET

A  conference call will be held on Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 3.00 pm EET
(8.00 am US EDT, 1.00 pm UK time, 2.00 pm CET). To participate, please dial in
5-10 minutes before the beginning of the event: 

UK/Europe:      +44 1452 560 304

US & Canada:  +1 631 621 5256

Event code:     18543407

The event can be followed online: link to the audiocast

A recording of the event will be available  at
www.outokumpu.com/en/investors/IR-events/webcasts as of November 5, 2015 at
around 6.00 pm EET. 

Presentation material will be available before the event at
www.outokumpu.com/Investors. 

For more information:

Investors: Johanna Henttonen, tel. +358 9 421 3804, mobile +358 40 530 0778

Media: Saara Tahvanainen, tel. +358 40 589 0223

Outokumpu Group


Outokumpu is a global leader in stainless steel. We create advanced materials
that are efficient, long lasting and recyclable - thus building a world that
lasts forever. Stainless steel, invented a century ago, is an ideal material to
create lasting solutions in demanding applications from cutlery to bridges,
energy and medical equipment: it is 100% recyclable, corrosion-resistant,
maintenance-free, durable and hygienic. Outokumpu employs more than 12 000
professionals in more than 30 countries, with headquarters in Espoo, Finland
and shares listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. www.outokumpu.com