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Corus unveils big losses
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March 15, 2001: 7:22 a.m. ET
Shares rise in Europe's No. 1 steelmaker; worst may be over
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LONDON (CNN) - Shares in Europe's biggest steelmaker Corus rose Thursday after it reported a £1.15bn ($1.67bn) loss for the 15-month period to December.
The Anglo-Dutch group's results followed a major restructuring unveiled last month and the shedding of 6,000 jobs in Britain.
Corus's (CS-) shares rebounded 6.7 percent to 64 pence in London shortly after the announcement, but the increase only partly reversed falls from earlier in the week.
Chairman Brian Moffat told a press conference he expected no more staff cuts in Britain, adding: "What we have tried to do... is draw a line in the sand."
He had said earlier that he hoped the results would mark the end of one of the British steel industry's "saddest" chapters.
Most of the losses were from Corus's British-based carbon steel business, but Moffat said he expected prices to recover in the second half of this year.
Despite the overall operating loss, performance from Corus's aluminium and stainless steel activities was good, with operating profits of £109 million ($158m) and £150 million ($217m) respectively, the company said.
The aluminium operation had benefited from "favourable demand trends in most markets... underpinned by high utilisation rates and good operating performances," Moffat added.
He said first-quarter demand had "continued to be buoyant" and the operations would continue to contribute to more of the group's profits as Corus hoped to supply its products to the transportation, engineering and distribution markets.
Corus, formed from the 1999 union of British Steel and Dutch steelmaker Hoogovens, announced last month that it would slash 6,000 UK jobs over the next two years in a bid to restore profits as demand continued to fall. 
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