BlueScope has recorded a massive $1.5 billion profit over the last financial year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That bottom line is a 119 per cent improvement – or $853.2 million – on the last financial year.
BlueScope's CEO Mark Vassella said the “outstanding” result was “driven by strong demand and steel spreads in our US and Australasian markets”.
“The BlueScope balance sheet is robust, with great flexibility, and we have a clear capital management framework in place,” Mr Vassella said.
READ MORE: BlueScope’s ‘best’ results
He said the result was the steelmakers’ best since 2005.
The Australian Steel Products section, which includes the Port Kembla steelworks, delivered a before-tax profit of $587.4 million, up 28 per cent from the last financial year.
The improvement was due to higher sales volumes, better steel spreads (the difference between raw materials and the sale price) and export coke sales.
The company is expecting a profit increase in the first half of the 2019 financial year in the order of 10 per cent compared to the results in the second half of the 2018 financial year.