JSE-listed Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium on Monday reported a return to profitability, as it delivered a first-quarter profit after suffering significant losses during the first and fourth quarters of 2012.

The group reported an operating profit of R50-million for the first quarter of 2013, compared with an operating loss of R283-million in the December 2012 quarter and a loss of R154-million in the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the period were recorded at R124-million, compared with a R212-million loss during the December quarter.

The company’s headline profit reached R30-million for the quarter under review, up from a loss of R222-million during the December quarter and a loss of R94-million recorded during the March 2012 quarter.

Evraz attributed the turnaround to increased sales, higher vanadium prices and a reduction in costs during the three months ended March 31.

Revenue increased to R1.4-billion during the first quarter, compared with the R1.02-billion and R1.3-billion revenue achieved in the December and March 2012 quarters respectively.

The steel group reported first-quarter steel sales of 135 512 t, including 11 000 t of fourth-quarter production that was only dispatched in the new year – an increase from the 111 587 t and 133 241 t sold during the fourth and first quarters of the prior year respectively.

Evraz said domestic steel sales increased from 108 647 t in the fourth quarter, to 134 231 t for the first quarter of 2013. Export steel sales volumes, however, decreased by 56% to 1 281 t during the quarter under review, compared with the immediately preceding quarter’s export sales of 2 940 t.

Ferrovanadium sales increased from 870 t in the December quarter, to 1 084 t in the first three months of this year, while nitrovan sales rose from 193 t to 224 t quarter-on-quarter.

Vanadium slag domestic sales remained steady at 104 t during the three months to March, increasing by 3 t from the preceding December quarter.