(Alliance News) - Vesuvius PLC on Thursday said it has performed well in the first four months of the year, thanks to both pricing and volumes being "modestly" ahead of its initial expectations across both of its divisions.
The molten metal flow engineering and technology company cautioned, however, that the pace of its end markets recovery remains "slow and uncertain", despite improving from low levels in the final quarter of last year.
Vesuvius said its Foundry division has delivered "particularly well" in the four months ended April 30, with "resilient" pricing driving a better-than-expected margin. Its Steel division was also ahead of expectations as a result of slightly better-than-anticipated volumes, the company said.
The London-based firm explained that steel production volumes have started to improve against the final quarter of 2022 as destocking gradually came to an end. However, it noted that first-quarter steel production for the world excluding China and Iran remains 6.8% lower than the same quarter last year. This is expected to improve in the coming months, but at a slow pace.
In its Foundry markets, Vesuvius also noted moderate improvements though said that the pace of the market's recovery in the coming months is "uncertain".
"Despite short-term uncertainty, we remain highly confident in the growth potential of our performance as soon as the market recovery accelerates. Consequently, we continue, at pace, our industry leading investment in [research & development] and our growth capital investment program," said Chief Executive Patrick Andre.
Vesuvius said its expectations for the year as whole remain unchanged.
Shares in Vesuvius were 0.5% higher at 413.36 pence on Thursday morning in London.
By Heather Rydings, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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Vesuvius (VSVS)