The net loss of the Russian metallurgical holding Mechel attributable to shareholders at the end of 2012 reached about $1.665 billion. This is stated in the official http://mechel.ru/news/article.wbp?article-id=5EF8AB2E-9C49-4D96-BDE0-AC481ED67514 target=_blank>company press release. A year earlier, Mechel's net profit amounted to about $728 million.

The company's operating loss last year was $898 million, while in 2011 operating profit exceeded $1.8 billion. At the end of 2012, Mechel's revenue from sales of products to external consumers decreased by 10.1 percent to $11.275 billion, and from sales within the group by 23.5 percent to $1.557 billion. The holding's total debt as of December 31, 2012 reached $9.4 billion.

After Mechel published its financial report, the holding's shares on the Moscow Exchange fell sharply. By 12:45 Moscow time, the company's securities fell in price by 4.82 percent.

At the beginning of April, Mechel's quotes were supported by information about a loan agreement signed with VTB for 40 billion rubles. This amount is expected to be used to pay off current debts. It was previously reported that Mechel, which is experiencing financial difficulties, plans to sell off non-core assets worth up to two billion dollars.

The position of Mechel, like other commodity companies, was negatively affected by the fall in world prices for raw materials. In mid-April, another large holding, Evraz, also reported a loss for 2012: last year, its losses, according to preliminary data, reached $335 million against a profit of $453 million in 2011. Evraz shares on the London Stock Exchange fell to a historic low after the publication of the report, falling in price by 16 percent.

Mechel reported a loss of $1.7 billion