MOSCOW – Russia's biggest iron-ore producer Metalloinvest swung to a net profit of $177-million in the first quarter of 2015, the company reported on Thursday.
Metalloinvest, owned by Russia's third richest man Alisher Usmanov, reported a net loss of $542-million for the last three months of 2014 owing to a revaluation of its dollar-denominated debt following the depreciation of the rouble.
The company said it had managed to reduce its net debt to $3.8-billion, down 8.6% compared with the previous quarter.
"A conservative financial policy and prudent approach to capital expenditure has allowed us to reduce our debt burden," said deputy CEO Pavel Mitrofanov.
Revenue slipped 2% quarter-on-quarter to $1.24-billion, the company said, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 7% to $458-million.
Metalloinvest's Ebitda margin, a measure of profitability, rose to 37%, compared with 33.9% in the previous quarter, the company said, as the weaker rouble reduced costs in dollar terms.