Sweden's SSAB beats earnings forecast in Q1 (updated)

SSAB AB

28/04/2026 06:38

Adds CEO quotes on EU safeguard effects and Middle East war in paragraphs 7, 8 and 11.

SSAB's Q1 profit beats expectations on premium steel demand

Asian importers build up inventories ahead of EU measures, CEO Sjostrom says

Limited direct impact from the Middle East conflict

SSAB sees stable Q2 shipments, prices stable or somewhat higher

By Marta Frackowiak

April 28 (Reuters) - Swedish steelmaker SSAB SSABa.ST reported better than expected first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, driven by strong shipments of advanced steels and higher results in both Europe and the Americas.

SSAB said its strategy to increase the share of premium products was yielding results, as deliveries of advanced steels hit "record levels" in the quarter. Those products include high-strength and speciality steels used in cars, construction machinery and agricultural equipment.

Operating earnings rose 63% to 2.20 billion Swedish crowns ($237.9 million) in the quarter, while analysts were expecting 2.05 billion crowns in a company-provided poll.

Europe's steel sector, long squeezed by energy costs and cheaper imports from Asia, stands to gain from tighter EU trade measures and the bloc's carbon border levy on high-emission imports.

"SSAB expects this to improve the supply-demand balance in the European market," CEO Johnny Sjostrom said in a statement, referring to the European Union's steel safeguard rules.

Those rules will come into effect from July 1, reducing the bloc's overall steel import quotas by about 47% to 18.3 million metric tons per year and increasing the out-of-quota duty to 50%.

Asian steel importers are building inventories in Europe ahead of the safeguard measures, but inflows should slow once they take effect, Sjostrom told Reuters. As those stocks are drawn down, steel prices are likely to first stabilise and then start rising, he added.

European customers are also increasingly turning to domestic producers to secure supply ahead of the policy changes, Sjostrom said.

Jefferies analysts expect supply and demand in the U.S. and Europe to improve into 2026, though a prolonged Iran war could hurt those prospects, they said in a note.

LONGER WAR WOULD HARM DEMAND

SSAB has so far seen limited direct impact from the war, with customers across several markets growing more cautious, Sjostrom said. He also warned a longer conflict could weigh on economic activity.

The group is less exposed to energy price swings than peers, as it produces much of its own electricity in Sweden and Finland. Sjostrom said this would benefit SSAB relative to competitors in the event of an energy crisis.

The company expects second-quarter shipments across divisions to be stable compared to the past three months.

Realised prices are seen somewhat higher for all three units, while raw material costs are set to be somewhat higher for Special Steels and Europe and fairly stable for the Americas.

($1 = 9.2487 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Marta Frąckowiak in Gdańsk; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)

((marta.frackowiak@thomsonreuters.com))