Outokumpu, a steel company based in Finland, is facing a significant financial impact due to prolonged strikes that have been ongoing for three weeks. The company has had to reevaluate its guidance for the current quarter and now expects adjusted EBITDA to decrease from the previous quarter. Initially, Outokumpu predicted that adjusted EBITDA would either decrease or remain unchanged, but now estimates a decrease due to the ongoing strikes.
The strike began on February 21st and was expected to last only two weeks, but it has been extended by an additional week. As a result, Outokumpu is now anticipating a further 25 million euro reduction in adjusted EBITDA. In total, the three-week strike is projected to result in a 65 million euro dent in the company’s adjusted EBITDA, with some of this impact expected to spill over into the next quarter.
Outokumpu’s stainless steel deliveries are also expected to decrease slightly from the fourth quarter of 2023 as a result of the strikes affecting the company’s operations in Finland. The closure of most of Outokumpu’s stainless steel and ferrochrome operations in Finland, as well as the Tornio port, has had a direct impact on the company’s operations. Additionally, the strike has indirectly affected operations in other countries through internal material flows in both Europe and the Americas.
