CAP loses US$450mn in value in 1mth

Chilean iron and steel company CAP (Compañía de Aceros del Pacífico) has lost nearly US$450mn in market capitalization over the last month, newspaper La Segunda reported. The company's value has fallen from US$2.1bn to US$1.7bn from mid-April to date as its shares have continued declining, the information said. "The [stock prices of] steel mills have not only collapsed in Chile but also many of them have fallen worldwide in the last couple of days," according to the paper. Increased costs of steelmaking materials such as coke and iron have put pressure on steelmakers worldwide. However, the paper shows companies such as Nucor and US Steel have already shown some signs of recovery, something that has not happened yet with CAP. In the first quarter CAP posted a net profit of US$68.7mn, up 222% from same-period last year. The company has iron ore mines in northern of Chile operated through its mining unit Minera del Pacífico and owns the Huachipato steel complex in south-central Region VIII.