Reuters reported that stainless steelmaker Aperam forecast improved first quarter earnings, helped by a market rebound and its own cost savings drive, when reporting a second consecutive quarterly net loss at the end of 2011.

Aperam, the world's sixth largest stainless steel producer and which was spun off by ArcelorMittal a year ago, also said that EBITDA was USD 53 million in the fourth quarter, down by 15% QoQ. In November 2011, it had said the fourth quarter would be similar to the third.

CEO Mr Philippe Darmayan said that business conditions had been more difficult than expected, with falling prices and a seasonal slowdown in South America. He added that "Since the beginning of the year, we have started to see the signs of a rebound in the business. But we continue to remain cautious considering the global economic uncertainty for 2012."

Stagnant consumption and cheaper imports from Asia have left Europe with a capacity glut, prompting speculation about industry consolidation. Last week saw Finnish group Outokumpu announce a 2.7 billion euro takeover of German peer ThyssenKrupp's stainless steel business.

Mr Darmayan said Aperam welcomed the move, from which it was well positioned to benefit. Declining nickel prices, a key input for many grades of stainless steel, has also cut into demand because customers have been waiting for potentially lower prices in the months ahead.

The company said core profit was expected to be better in the first quarter due to a stainless market rebound as well as its Leadership Journey plan, which brought in USD 176 million of cost savings last year and is designed to save USD 350 million by 2013.

Aperam's outlook followed a broadly downbeat forecast from Outokumpu which, after a wider than expected fourth quarter loss, said a slight rise in the price of nickel had led distributors to restock after sharply pulling down inventories. Outokumpu also said underlying demand had not changed.

(Sourced from www.reuters.com)