BlueScope has seen its earnings slashed, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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CEO Mark Vassella on Monday morning reported $564 million in before-tax earnings, a massive drop compared to the previous year's result of $1.34 billion.
The steelmaker's after-tax profit this financial year was $96.5 million, 90 per cent down on last year's $1.015 billion.
Mr Vassella said it was a good result in very difficult times.
"While no-one knows how this pandemic will play out, BlueScope has shown once again the resilience in its earnings, the quality of its cash flow and the strength of the balance sheet," Mr Vassella said.
He added that no Australian BlueScope employee had signed up to JobKeeper.
The Australian Steel Products sector, which includes the Port Kembla steelworks, saw pre-tax earnings drop 43 per cent on last year to $305.1 million.
The drop was largely put down to shrinking steel spreads due to lower regional demand and an increase in raw material costs.
However, domestic sales increased 3 per cent on last year, which Mr Vassella said was unexpected.
"In a second half where we might have expected volumes to drop off, the Australian sales increased year on year by a few percentage points," he said.
"If you had have said to me six months ago that I could finish the year slightly up in volume year on year, I'd have taken it without hesitation."
He said that was in part driven by people being at home more often, seeing what work needed to be done and reallocating money that would have been spent on travel to renovations.
"They're sitting at home thinking about what they need to do to improve their properties and we've been the beneficiaries of that," he said.
Regarding the COVID-19 situation, Mr Vassella noted there had been no closures of any operating sites due to an outbreak so far.
He suggested the steelmaker could be able to come strongly out of the pandemic.
"We believe we are well-positioned to address likely post-COVID emerging societal trends, such as a shift in preferences towards lower density suburban and regional/rural residential housing demand, a rise in home improvements and extensions activity, enhanced focus on e-commerce and logistics growth and the onshoring or localisation of supply chains," he said.
Despite a 71 per cent drop in pre-tax earnings at the company's North Star plant in the United States, Mr Vassella said it would continue with its plan to expand the mill.
"We have been encouraged by North Star's performance during the past six months and by the rate of capacity rationalisation in North Star's region and the broader US, further reinforcing our belief in the investment case," Mr Vassella said.
"The project remains a key capital allocation priority given the long-term value we expect it will create."
However, expected below-par longer term performances from the New Zealand part of the business saw a $197.0 million write-down - ahead of a possible cost-cutting program similar to what Port Kembla saw in 2015.
Mr Vassella said the business would be reconfigured to create "a change in product mix, cost and productivity improvements".
"The intention is to deliver an appropriate level of profitability and sustainability by making the business more fit for purpose and fit for market," he said.
"The proposed reconfiguration could see a substantial number of roles being made redundant."
Across the board at the start of this financial year, Mr Vassella said steel spreads in the US and Asian markets were lower than the second half of last year, Australian orders and despatches remained stable and the North Star plant was despatching at near full capacity.
But COVID-19 had thrown a spanner in the works, meaning Mr Vassella would not offer any early indicators of pre-tax profits for the next six months.
"There is a high level of uncertainty in the current environment given the risks of COVID-19 events which could disrupt demand, supply chains and operations, combined with broader macroeconomic weakness dampening demand, Mr Vassella said.
"An update on trading conditions will be provided at BlueScope's Annual General Meeting on November 19, 2020."