Ezz Steel Jumps As Egypt Mulls Punishing Turkish Steel

Ezz Steel (ESRS.CA), Egypt’s biggest publicly-traded producer of the metal, gained the most in two months after the government said it’s studying anti-dumping fees on Turkish imports to protect the local industry.

Shares of the Cairo-based company climbed 4.2 percent to 11.18 Egyptian pounds at the close in the capital, the largest advance since July 9 and bringing a rally in the past three days to 5.8 percent. The benchmark EGX 30 Index rose 3.1 percent.

The government said it’s considering taking action against an increase in Turkish imports at low prices, according to an e-mailed statement yesterday. The manufacturer’s shares have surged 31 percent since the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July, valuing the company at 6.07 billion pounds ($880 million). That compares with a gain of about 9 percent for the benchmark.

Curbing Turkish competition will “send prices higher, at least temporarily,” Allen Sandeep, director of research at Cairo-based Naeem Holding, said by phone. “There will be an improvement in volumes” as government action may result in 10 percent undersupply in the domestic market, he said.

Ahmed Ezz, the company’s majority owner and a senior official in former president Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic party, was acquitted in June after being charged with monopolizing the country’s steel market. Managing Director Paul Chekaiban said in July the first quarter of the year marked a “turning point” for the manufacturer as profit surged to 202 million pounds from 18 million a year earlier.

Seven analysts recommend investors buy Ezz shares, while two say hold and one says sell, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Source: Bloomberg