Egypt’s Ezz Steel Says Q2 Net Profit Falls 16%

Egypt’s largest steel producer, Ezz Steel (ESRS.CA), reported a 16 percent drop in net profit for the second quarter, as the company grappled with persistent economic weakness since last year’s popular uprising.

Ezz Steel has benefited from buoyant demand for affordable housing, helping offset a slump in infrastructure and luxury real estate projects since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak.

Net income for the three-month period was 142.43 million Egyptian pounds ($23.34 million), down from 168.64 million pounds a year earlier, according to a stock exchange filing.