Tenaris, the Italian-Argentine group, leader in the steel pipe sector, closed the first quarter with a net profit of 423 million euros, up 21% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012 but down 6% from the same period last year. The decline in results in economic terms causes the stock to fall on the Stock Exchange.
The decline in turnover reflects the fact that the increase in sales of "octg" pipes in Saudi Arabia and Sub-Saharan Africa did not fully offset the decline in turnover in South America and the impact of the decline of the prices suffered by some products in the North American markets. The note from Tenaris reports it. As regards the rest of the year, the group estimates that, after the slowdown in drilling in the last three quarters in North America, there will be a recovery in these activities by the end of the year; in the rest of the world there should be - according to the note - slow growth, supported by current oil and gas prices.
