SSAB's giant investment in new steel furnaces, mainly in Luleå, which will be able to produce fossil-free steel, costs around 50 billion kronor. And from the same critics who questioned Stegra's project, questions have been raised about whether the investment is sensible.
But Johnny Sjöström thinks that criticism is off the mark. SSAB's machinery is old. Investments are needed regardless.
Not fair
And then we decided to invest in new equipment and new technology. Which, by the way, also makes it fossil-free production. So, for our part, we think it's not quite fair to compare with Stegra, says Sjöström in connection with the company's quarterly report.
In recent weeks, Stegra's financing situation has come under scrutiny. The management has assured that the money is in port, but sources have told various newspapers about a looming crisis - that the money is running out. The production start has been postponed to the beginning of 2027.
SSAB's transformation is also based on the EU making it more expensive to emit carbon dioxide, the same business idea as Stegra has. That path is not as straightforward anymore since several EU countries have urged to postpone the plans.
Not the most important
Will it become less profitable then?
There is, of course, such a component in our business case. But the most important component is actually that we expand our capacity to produce more of this special steel that we make good money on, says Johnny Sjöström and points to the sensitivity analysis the company has done, which shows that they are prepared for most things.
Not exactly anything, but we can handle very much regardless of what happens.
Now he also hopes, along with the entire European steel industry, for the EU's announced increased tariffs targeting China, which with its state-subsidized steel is flooding Europe.
This is absolutely necessary. It will have a very positive impact on prices, he says.
Olle Lindström/TT
Fact: SSAB's results in figures
TT
Steel manufacturer SSAB reports an operating result of 1.9 billion kronor for the third quarter of the year. During the same quarter last year, the profit was 1.2 billion.
The increase in profit is driven mainly by a stronger development for SSAB Americas, according to the report.
Total revenue fell to 23.0 billion, from 24.4 billion. The decline was larger than expected, according to the news agency Bloomberg. The average forecast was 23.7 billion.
