RHI increases earnings again in the third quarter of 2012

Revenues of refractories specialist RHI Group increased by 7% in the third quarter of 2012 in comparison to the same quarter of 2011 and amounted to €459.9m.

While revenues in the Steel Division dropped by 3.7% in a market environment still characterized by uncertainty, the Industrial Division recorded growth of 25.8% as some major projects were delivered. The operating result of the third quarter was up 28.3% on the comparable period of 2011 and amounted to €50.3m, thus again exceeding the high level of the previous quarter.

Positive restructuring effects of €6.3m resulted from the sale of the plant in South Africa. The Group’s EBIT amounted to €56.6m in the third quarter, exceeding the figure of the third quarter of 2011 by 44.4%. The EBIT margin rose significantly from 9.1% to 12.3%.

Net debt remained nearly constant at €424.4m despite high investments in Norway and Turkey. The gearing ratio improved from 90.2% in the second quarter of 2012 to 86.1%.