Otelinox sees business up 35% in 2008, but steps into the red

Stainless steel sheet producer Otelinox Targoviste ended last year with 255 million RON (69.5 million euros) in turnover, up by around 35% against 2007. The company recorded a slight loss in 2008 – 1.38 million RON (around 0.37 million euros), from a 7.9 million-RON (2.17 million-euro) net profit posted the year before, according to Dumitru Paraschiva, trade union leader of Otelinox. Six months into the year, the company had posted 13.45 million RON (3.7 million euros) in net profit, amid a major price increase for metal profiles in that period. However, towards the end of the year, demand on the market fell sharply, particularly due to lower car sales on EU markets in the context of the international economic crisis, which also affected the prices of Otelinox products. “We recorded very good results in the first eight months of 2008, but, in the last four months of the year, the company faced problems very familiar to producers in the metallurgic industry. For Otelinox, nickel quotes on international stock exchanges, as well as product stocks of major producers have a significant impact on our activity and results,” said Adrian Glavan, general manager of Otelinox Targoviste.