Cronimet reports improved results for 2017

The Karlsruhe, Germany-based Cronimet Holding Group has reported what it calls noticeable improvement in its earnings situation in 2017. The stainless steel recycling firm says its 2017 pre-tax profit of €19 million ($22.1 million) follows “two years of successful restructuring.”

The company says sales rose from €1.65 billion ($1.92 billion) in 2016 to €2.1 billion ($2.44 billion) in 2017—an increase of 27 percent. Cronimet also indicates its volume figure of 1.425 million metric tons of scrap sold in 2017 was above the previous year’s level.

Heading into its 2018 fiscal year, the company states in a news release that “management is confident it will exceed the planned figures and also the previous year’s result on the earnings side. The financial figures for the first six months of 2018 confirm this development.”

CEO and co-shareholder Jürgen Pilarsky comments, “Thanks to the great commitment of our employees and the support of our business partners, we were able to implement various measures in 2015 and 2016, the positive effects of which have been felt since the end of 2016 and continue to have a stabilizing effect on the company in 2017 to this day. We are therefore optimally positioned for the future, especially with regard to trade policy challenges.”

Cronimet also indicates its healthier standing is being “rewarded by the financial markets.” The firm says a new syndicated three-year loan agreement at an amount of approximately €600 million ($698 million) was signed with an international banking consortium and was “significantly oversubscribed by the banks.”

The Cronimet Holding Group describes itself as a global specialist in the stainless steel scrap, ferroalloys and primary metals sectors. The company was founded in 1980 and currently has more than 1,500 employees operating from more than 60 locations.