9th Aug 2018 08:14
LONDON (Alliance News) - FTSE 100-listed steel and coal firm Evraz PLC increased its interim dividend Thursday after its profit and revenue both jumped on higher sales and prices combined with cost cutting benefits.
For the six months ended June, pretax profit jumped more than five times to USD1.54 billion from USD294 million the year prior as revenue rose 25% to USD6.19 billion from USD4.96 billion the year before.
Profit performance was helped by the firm's "continuous operational efficiency improvements and a stronger price environment."
Revenue was boosted by growth across its steel and coal businesses. Steel revenue - including North America - grew to USD5.58 billion from USD4.52 billion the year prior. Coal revenue rose to USD1.24 billion from USD1.12 billion the year before.
Given the "solid results", Evraz has proposed a 40 US cents second interim dividend per share. The year prior it paid a 30 cents dividend.
"In the first half of 2018, the group delivered a solid financial performance, supported by the ongoing improvement in the global steel market environment," Chief Executive Alexander Frolov said.
Net debt reduced to USD3.88 billion from USD3.97 billion the year prior.
"We are proud of our strong ongoing performance and will remain focused on delivering further improvements," Frolov added. "In the second half of the year, despite possible price correction, we expect market conditions to remain positive overall."
Shares in Evraz were 0.3% higher at 558.20 pence in early trading Thursday.
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