Vallourec 1Q earnings plummet

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

France-based Vallourec reported adjusted first-quarter earnings in the negative Tuesday.

The company that operates Vallourec Star on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard saw a loss of $82.7 million in the first quarter, compared with a gain of $60.9 million reported in the first quarter of 2015.

Revenues for the first quarter of 2016 were $771.4 million, a 36.2 percent drop from the first quarter of 2015 revenues of $1.2 billion.

“As expected, the first quarter of 2016 was marked by a decrease in volumes,” said Philippe Crouzet, chairman of the management board. “This new record-low level illustrates the extent of the crisis the oil and gas markets are going through.”

Vallourec operates in 20 countries, supplying the energy markets and industrial industries with tubular solutions.

The company has seen a consistent impact on its earnings from the downturn in the energy industry. The price of oil has dropped from more than $100 a barrel reported in June 2014 to $43.65 for a barrel for West Texas Intermediate oil, a benchmark for pricing in the industry, as of May 3, 2016; and $45.22 for a barrel of Brent oil, another benchmark, according to Bloomberg.

Read more about the situation in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.