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[May 2004]
Elkem First Quarter Results
Elkem's group income from operations before goodwill and other items for the first quarter of 2004 was NOK 590 million as compared with NOK 409 million in the fourth quarter of 2003 and NOK 463 million in the first quarter of 2003. The improvement in income from operations in relation to the previous quarters was mainly due to somewhat better prices, higher production volumes and improved operations, said the company.
Total net sales in Q1 2004 were NOK 5.487 billion while net profit was NOK 328 million (Q1 2003: NOK 254 million). This represented earnings per share for Q1 2004 of NOK 6.03 compared with NOK 4.69 in Q1 2003.
Sapa's results continued to show improvements in relation to the previous quarter. This was due to a combination of increased volumes and better productivity. Similarly, the Aluminium reporting group improved income from operations in relation to Q4 2003.
Energy further improved the high profit level from the previous quarter. The Silicon Metal reporting group showed an improvement, mainly due to higher prices and better operations. The same was the case for the Ferrosilicon reporting group, where good prices continued to be obtained on ferrosilicon for the steel industry.
The reporting group Materials, Carbon and Calcium Carbide also recorded a slightly better result, even though the calcium carbide business in the USA continues to depress results in this area.
ENDS