© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An illuminated emblem of steelmaker Voestalpine stands in entrance of the metal plant Donawitz in Leoben, Austria, August 09, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
ZURICH (Reuters) – Austrian specialty steelmaker Voestalpine is in superior talks to promote a majority stake in its Texas plant, it mentioned on Sunday.
“In current months, voestalpine has been conducting an open-ended market sounding to stabilize the enterprise mannequin of its direct discount plant in Corpus Christi, Texas,” the Austrian agency mentioned in an announcement. “On account of this examination, voestalpine is at the moment in negotiations to promote 80% of its shares in voestalpine Texas.”
Talks had been at a complicated stage, it mentioned, with out disclosing a possible gross sales value.
Voestalpine introduced plans to speculate 550 million euros in a state-of-the-art plant in Corpus Christi in 2013.
The $1 billion plant in Corpus Christi opened in October 2016, with an annual capability of two million tonnes of high-quality sizzling briquetted iron, or sponge iron, a pre-material utilized in metal manufacturing.
Nevertheless, the plant has since confronted setbacks starting from building delays to price overruns totaling greater than a billion {dollars}, in addition to a difficult market scenario amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following write-offs, the Texas operation was valued at 448 million euros, Chief Monetary Officer Robert Ottel mentioned in November 2020.
Voestalpine recognised an impairment lack of 163 million euros on the Texas operations for its 2020-21 reporting 12 months, because the plant was confronted with “sharply decrease” demand.
Nevertheless, through the first three quarters of its present 2021-22 reporting 12 months, the Texas plant had benefited from “good demand for metal in North America,” the Austrian agency mentioned in February, when it mentioned it anticipated full-year earnings throughout the group on the higher finish of its forecast.
