Egyptian Iron and Steel company (IRON) recorded an EGP 104.15m net loss during the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year 2015/2016, compared to EGP 124.9m during the same quarter last year. This represents a 16.6% decline in losses year-on-year (YoY). Total sales dropped during Q1 2015/2016 to stand at EGP 272.6 compared to EGP 408.36 during the corresponding period of last year. The decline in sales was due to the shortage in supplies of coal needed for production as well as the stagnant state of the global economy, resulting in a decline in demand. Steel prices surged recently after a period of stability that lasted more than eight months. The executive director of the Chamber of Metallurgical Industries, Mohamed Hanafy, stated that stability of prices was due to market recession and instability in this period. In April, then-minister of industry and foreign trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour imposed protection fees on imported rebar steel, at 8% per tonne, or no less than EGP 408 per tonne. The decision will last for three years, with the protection rates of the first year amounting to the above-mentioned amount. The following year, they will reach EGP 325 per tonne, and the year after they will stand at EGP 175 per tonne. The decision came after temporary protection fees were imposed on imported steel for 200 days beginning from October 2014. The step was taken by the ministry to protect the local industry from a significant increase in steel imports.
