State run Brazilian steel maker CSN has announced first quarter profits as Net Income rose by 617.5 million Brazilian reais, a bit short of estimates of 677 million reais profits as expected by financial analysts. The Rio de Janeiro based company said that profits in the first quarter were up by 38%.
Despite a drop in steel output the sales from its mining assets has allowed CSN to post good figures. Sales of iron ore have doubles to 1.2 billion reais from last year. Crude steel production has gone down by 4% and rolled steel production output has gone down by 14% for the steel maker.
However things are looking up for the company in the mining business as its iron ore is now selling for more than three times what is was selling for two years ago. Its mining unit alone accounted for 31% of the net sales in the first quarter, which was a mere 24% in the same time period last year. Many steel makers around the world are now pushing up their investment in both iron ore and coal assets.
The Chief Financial Officer of CSN, Paulo Penido said that the company expected to produce 40 million tons of iron ore next year. They also gained financially from the sale of its 19.99 % stake in Australian company Riversdale mining in this quarter for $ 803 million.