Omani welded pipemaker and long product re-roller Al Jazeera Steel reported a -28% on-year decline in revenue in 2015 to OMR 68.86 million ($179m). Net profit after tax and provisions plunged -67% to OMR 1.7m. The firm will release its full 2015 results later this month.

Al Jazeera said last October it expected steel prices to plateau towards the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016 after a prolonged 18-month fall that saw steel buyers continue to delay purchases (see Kallanish 2 November). The firm reported January-September shipments and production declines of -11% and -12% respectively to 220,100 tonnes and 215,967t.

It also said at the time it saw little impact on its revenue as a result of the latest US antidumping and countervailing duty investigation into welded pipe imports from Oman and other countries.

Thereafter in December the US International Trade Commission ruled that there is reasonable indication that the US industry is being harmed by allegedly dumped imports from Oman, thus allowing the trade case to continue.

The firm has a 300,000 tonnes/year welded pipe mill and a combined rebar and merchant bar mill of the same capacity. It is seeking a new chief executive to replace Bhaskar Dutta who vacated the post on 1 January.