Empresa Siderurgica del Peru S.A.A.

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What it is

SIDERPERU is Peru’s dominant steel and iron company, founded in 1956 in the port city of Chimbote. It operates the country’s only blast furnace, alongside several electric arc furnaces — a rare combination that gives it unmatched production flexibility in the region.

Its products run from structural bars and mining balls to galvanized pipes and electro-welded mesh, serving customers in construction, road infrastructure, energy, mining, and agriculture. The integrated steel complex in Chimbote can make steel starting from raw iron ore — through a blast furnace and converter route — or by melting scrap in electric furnaces.

Who owns it

Gerdau S.A., the Brazilian multinational steel group, holds 90.03% of SIDERPERU’s shares as of 31 December 2024, making it a tightly controlled subsidiary. The remaining 9.97% is spread among 2,763 minority shareholders, none of whom exceeds 5%.

Gerdau first took control in 2006, acquiring more than 83% of the capital through a series of bids that transformed SIDERPERU from an independent Peruvian company into the group’s Andean anchor. Gerdau has since used SIDERPERU as its platform in Peru, integrating it into a wider network of long-steel operations that serve construction and infrastructure demand across South America.

Who runs it

Juan Pablo García Bayce serves as CEO of SIDERPERU; he is credited with leading the company through a successful restructuring that reduced debt and sharpened sales performance. His background is squarely inside the Gerdau network: García Bayce, a chemical engineer with MBAs from Universidad ORT Uruguay and Stanford, has been CEO of Gerdau Siderperu for a number of years.

Raúl Ugarte Franco serves as Finance Manager (Controller) and CFO, with responsibility for cost controls, financial planning, and investor relations. The CFO title and board chair name are not separately disclosed in available primary sources beyond this.

The money, in plain words

In full-year 2024, SIDERPERU earned a net profit of PEN 177 (US$52)M (~$52M), up from PEN 115.7 (US$34)M in 2023, on sales of PEN 2,429 (US$711)M (~$710M) — a year-on-year revenue gain of 1.9%. The company said the improved result reflected higher shipment volumes, despite a slight dip in average selling price.

The company keeps about 7 cents of profit from every sol of sales — a net margin of 7.3% (our calculation), modest by regional consumer-goods standards but respectable for a capital-heavy steel mill. For every sol shareholders have put in, the company earned back about 17 cents in the year — a return on equity of 16.7%, with minimal net debt (debt-to-equity of 0.62).

The shares trade at roughly 10.7 times annual earnings — a price-to-earnings ratio of ~10.7× — a notable discount to the global steel-industry average of about 18×. The dividend yield clocks in at approximately 12.6% (TTM), unusually high and a product of large special payouts.

What it is doing now

Full-year 2025 net profit fell roughly 22% year-on-year from the strong 2024 base, reflecting softer operating conditions. The company reported its December 2025 quarter on 16 February 2026, with quarterly net sales of PEN 593.9 (US$174)M and net profit of PEN 21.1 (US$6)M — net profit down 56% quarter-on-quarter as operating margins compressed sharply.

SIDERPERU’s production capacity is estimated at 750,000 metric tons per year, and the parent Gerdau has invested roughly $250M in plant upgrades since the 2006 acquisition. The near-term challenge is protecting margins in a softer price environment while Peru’s public infrastructure pipeline gradually reopens order books.

What to watch

• Peru construction cycle. Steel demand here moves tightly with public spending on roads and housing; any acceleration in the government’s infrastructure programme feeds directly into Siderperu’s volumes.
• Import competition. The company has previously flagged the risk of dumped steel imports in certain product lines — a regulatory outcome at Peru’s trade authority could shift the competitive landscape quickly.
• Dividend policy. Having come back from being a heavily indebted company to one generating cash, SIDERPERU resumed dividend distributions — a high yield signals large payouts, but its sustainability depends on how 2025–2026 earnings recover.
• Gerdau group strategy. Analysts who follow Latin American steel cross-reference Siderperu within Gerdau’s own communications, particularly for news of planned upgrades or changes in how capital is deployed at the Peruvian unit.

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This is news, not investment advice.