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Corus losses widen
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September 10, 2001: 6:03 a.m. ET
Corus net profits down, to make jobs statement in near term
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LONDON (CNN) - Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus reported a first-half net loss of $287 million, and said it would make a statement on Dutch jobs losses soon.
Corus, Europe's third-largest steel maker, said an announcement about the restructuring of its IJmuiden plant in the Netherlands will be released towards the end of September.
Chief Exexutive Tony Pedder declined to confirm or deny reports that up to 1,500 jobs would go as a result of the revamp. The company sacked 6,050 employees in the UK in February as it tried to return to profitability.
"There are going to be conclusions drawn toward the end of the month and communicated properly to the workforce," Pedder said.
The company said its net loss for the six months to June 30 was £195 million, compared to the year-ago figure of £72 million.
Carbon steel arm bears brunt of losses
Undiluted earnings per share were 6.25 pence as against 2.34 pence in the previous period, but Corus said it would pay no interim dividend and would make a decision in March 2002 on whether to pay a final dividend.
Corus said in a statement: "Losses were confined to carbon steel as both aluminum and stainless steel businesses made operating profits."
It said cuts output by steel producers during the summer should lead to a better supply/demand balance and help prices improve, although it added that "any significant price recovery is not likely to take place until 2002".
Corus (CS-), which was created from the 1999 merger of British Steel and Holland's Hoogovens, saw its shares fall 2.9 percent to 60 pence in London. 
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