Highveld Steel & Vanadium said that it had initiated retrenchment negotiations with its unions and that it expected the process would be completed within three months. It gave no indication as to how many jobs might be affected.

In March 2009, Hiveld indicated that it was implementing labor restructuring and reorganization and that it had already reduced its use of external service providers. But it made its official retrenchment announcement in a statement to shareholders, in which the company also reported sharply lower earnings for the quarter ended March 31st 2009.

Headline earnings dropped to ZAR 130 million, comparing poorly with the ZAR 463 million reported for the comparable period of 2008 and headline earnings of ZAR 562 million reported for the December quarter. Profit of ZAR 129 million was 80% lower than the comparable profit made in 2008, and 70% below the ZAR 432 million achieved in the prior quarter.

Hiveld said that the outlook for the steel market remained uncertain. And, in stark contrast to its larger rival ArcelorMittal South Africa, which announced price increases of between 4% and 6% as from July 1, Hiveld asserted that there was no indication as yet as to whether demand will improve or whether prices will stabilize.

The company also reported a 74% QoQ fall to ZAR 178 million, in operating profits from continuing operations, but a relatively modest decline, from ZAR 1.6 billion to ZAR 1.1 billion, in its net cash position period on period.