Luxembourg, July 31, 2013 - Aperam (referred to as “Aperam” or the “Company”) (Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Paris: APAM and NYRS: APEMY), announced today results for the three month period ending June 30, 2013.

Highlights
Health and Safety frequency rate2 of 1.4x in Q2 2013 compared to 1.1x in Q1 2013.
Shipments of 450 thousand tonnes in Q2 2013, a 12% increase compared to shipments of 401 thousand tonnes in Q1 2013.
EBITDA3 USD 81 million in Q2 2013, compared to EBITDA of USD 65 million in Q1 2013.
Basic loss per share of USD 0.15 in Q2 2013.
Cash flow from operations amounted to USD 34 million in Q2 2013.
Net debt4 of USD 841 million on June 30, 2013, representing a gearing of 29%.
Prospects

EBITDA in Q3 2013 is expected to be lower compared to EBITDA in Q2 2013 due to the traditional seasonal slowdown and current market weakness.
Net debt to temporarily increase in Q3 2013.

Philippe Darmayan, CEO of Aperam, commented:
“Over the quarter, we are pleased to have increased our profitability in the context of a steep nickel price drop and the market’s deterioration. This achievement demonstrates the validity of our strategy and the excellent progress of the Leadership Journey®5
We remain cautious going forward considering the stainless steel environment, but we are confident in our ability to further improve our underlying performance and to achieve our ambitious targets. "

Financial Highlights (on the basis of IFRS)
(USDm) unless otherwise stated Q2 13 Q1 13 Q2 126 H1 2013 H1 20126
Sales 1,366 1,269 1,351 2,635 2,760
EBITDA 81 65 66 146 131
Operating income / (loss) 5 (11) (18) (6) (30)
Net loss (11) (28) (28) (39) (40)

Steel shipments (000t) 450 401 433 851 866
EBITDA/tonne (USD) 180 162 152 172 151
Basic loss per share (USD) 0.15 0.36 0.36 0.51 0.51

Health & Safety results analysis
Health and Safety performance based on Aperam personnel figures and contractors’ lost time injury frequency rate2 was 1.4x in the second quarter of 2013 compared to 1.1x in the first quarter of 2013.

Financial results analysis
Sales in the second quarter of 2013 increased by 8% at USD 1,366 million compared to USD 1,269 million in the first quarter of 2013. Shipments in the second quarter of 2013 increased by 12% at 450 thousand tonnes compared to 401 thousand tonnes in the first quarter of 2013.

EBITDA was USD 81 million in the second quarter of 2013 compared to EBITDA of USD 65 million in the first quarter of 2013. Despite lower nickel prices and more difficult market conditions in the quarter, EBITDA increased as a result of the continuous progress of the Leadership Journey®5 and significant improvement of the industrial performance. The Leadership Journey® has continued to progress over the quarter and has contributed a total amount of USD 324 million to EBITDA since the beginning of 2011.

Depreciation and impairment expense in the second quarter of 2013 was USD 76 million.

Aperam had an operating income in the second quarter of USD 5 million compared to an operating loss of USD 11 million in the previous quarter.

Net interest expense and other financing costs in the second quarter of 2013 were USD 30 million, primarily related to financing costs of USD 22 million. Realized and unrealized foreign exchange and derivative gains were USD 1 million in Q2 2013.

The Company recorded a net loss of USD 11 million, inclusive of an income tax benefit of USD 13 million, in the second quarter of 2013.

Cash flows from operations in the second quarter were positive at USD 34 million, with a working capital increase of USD 16 million. CAPEX in the second quarter was USD 33 million.

As of June 30, 2013, shareholders’ equity was USD 2,935 million and net financial debt4 was USD 841 million (gross financial debt as of June 30, 2013 was USD 1,084 million and cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were USD 243 million).

The Company had liquidity of USD 653 million as of June 30, 2013, consisting of cash and cash equivalents of USD 233 million and undrawn credit lines7 of USD 420 million.

Operating segment results analysis
Stainless & Electrical Steel

The Stainless & Electrical Steel segment had sales of USD 1,078 million in the second quarter of 2013. This represents an increase of 7% compared to sales of USD 1,007 million in the first quarter of 2013. Shipments during the second quarter were 429 thousand tonnes. Europe shipments were 267 thousand tonnes and South America shipments were 162 thousand tonnes. This is an increase of 11% compared to shipments of 388 thousand tonnes in the previous quarter (250 thousand tonnes in Europe and 138 thousand tonnes in South America). Volume increase in Europe are mainly due to the restart of the new hot annealing and pickling line at the Gueugnon plant in France and the industrial recovery in South America. Overall, average selling prices for the Stainless & Electrical Steel segment were slightly lower for the quarter.

The segment had EBITDA of USD 71 million in the second quarter of 2013 compared to USD 47 million in the first quarter of 2013. EBITDA from South America increased in the second quarter of 2013 to USD 41 million from USD 24 million in the first quarter of 2013. The increase of EBITDA was primarily driven by higher volumes in the quarter and the increase of sales in the domestic market. EBITDA from Europe increased from USD 23 million in the first quarter of 2013 to USD 30 million in the second quarter of 2013. The improvement in EBITDA in Europe was primarily driven by Aperam’s value strategy and the continuing progress of the Leadership Journey®. Over the quarter, a USD 8 million income of insurance indemnification was recognized in relation to the Capex of the restructuring of the new annealing and pickling line. Excluding this one-off item in the Europe EBITDA, overall EBITDA for the division was stable as a result of negative pricing effect compensated by higher volumes and the progress of the Leadership Journey®.

Depreciation and amortization expense was USD 59 million in the second quarter of 2013.
The Stainless & Electrical Steel segment had an operating income of USD 12 million during the second quarter of 2013 compared to an operating loss of USD 13 million in the first quarter of 2013.

Services & Solutions

The Services & Solutions segment had a 1% decrease in sales during the quarter, from USD 572 million in the first quarter of 2013 to USD 566 million in the second quarter of 2013. In the second quarter of 2013, shipments were 174 thousand tonnes compared to 171 thousand tonnes in the previous quarter. The Services & Solutions segment had slightly lower average selling prices during the period.

The segment had negative EBITDA in the second quarter of 2013 of USD 5 million compared to positive EBITDA of USD 8 million in the first quarter of 2013. Overall, the decline of EBITDA is due to the negative stock effect related to the nickel price. In addition, USD 7 million of restructuring provision have been recorded in relation to Firminy (Aperam Stainless Services & Solutions Precision) upcoming closure.

Depreciation and amortization expense was USD 7 million and impairment expense was USD 3 million in the second quarter of 2013.

The Services & Solutions segment had an operating loss of USD 15 million in the second quarter of 2013 compared to an operating income of USD 1 million in the first quarter of 2013.

Alloys & Specialties

The Alloys & Specialties segment had sales in the second quarter of 2013 of USD 170 million, representing an increase of 4% compared to USD 163 million in the first quarter of 2013. Shipments in the second quarter of 2013 were comparable to shipments in the first quarter of 2013 at 10 thousand tonnes. Average selling prices increased over the quarter.

The Alloys & Specialties segment achieved EBITDA of USD 15 million in the second quarter of 2013 compared to USD 12 million in the first quarter of 2013. The EBITDA improvement is mainly due to product mix improvement and continuous progress in the Leadership Journey®.

Depreciation and amortization expense in the second quarter of 2013 was USD 1 million.

The Alloys & Specialties segment had operating income of USD 14 million in the second quarter of 2013 compared to operating income of USD 7 million in the first quarter of 2013.

Recent developments
On May 8, 2013 Aperam announced the publication of its second Sustainability Report. The report outlines the Company’s sustainability performance and its record and policies in areas such as safety, people, communities, environment, as well as the contribution of the Company’s products to society. Aperam’s second Sustainability Report can be read online at www.aperam.com, section Sustainability.
On May 8, 2013, the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held in Luxembourg approved all resolutions on the agenda by a large majority. 46,782,903 shares, or 59.94% of the Company's share capital, were present or represented at the meeting. In particular, the shareholders approved the consolidated financial statements for the calendar year ending December 31, 2012. In addition, the re-election of Board Members and the authorization of grants of share based incentives were achieved.
On May 24, 2013, the Board of Directors of Aperam decided to co-opt Mr. Joseph Greenwell (62 years) as director until Aperam’s next general meeting of shareholders, where Mr. Greenwell’s election will be submitted for confirmation to the shareholders. This decision follows the resignation of Mr. David Burritt from the Board of Directors for personal considerations effective May 24, 2013. Mr. Greenwell has a career of 40 years in the motor industry and held senior roles in Jaguar, Ford of Europe and Ford North America. Mr. Greenwell’s biographical information is available online at www.aperam.com, section Investors & Shareholders.
On July 31, 2013 Aperam announced that following the departure of Mr. Julien Burdeau effective July 15th, 2013, Mr. Philippe Darmayan, current Chief Executive Officer for Aperam, will now also hold responsibilities for the Alloys & Specialties division.