DUISBURG (dpa-AFX) - Lower steel prices and value adjustments drove steel trader Klockner & Co into the red last year. The bottom line for 2023 was a loss of 190 million euros, as the company announced in Duisburg on Wednesday. In the previous year, the company had posted a profit of 259 million euros. The write-downs were related to the recently completed sale of the four national companies in France, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium. Adjusted for this, the Group result was minus 0.3 million euros. At 0.20 euros per share, the dividend will be half that of the previous year.

Turnover fell from 8.3 million to just under 7 billion euros. Adjusted for special effects, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell from 355 million to 190 million euros, which is in line with Klockner's forecast.

For the current year, the company expects a normalization of general conditions and a slowdown in inflationary dynamics. Demand in the key sales markets in Europe and North America should increase significantly, and with it turnover and sales volumes. Klockner also anticipates a significant increase in adjusted EBITDA./nas/mis