A STEEL firm says a move to cast off North-East operations has helped its finance sheet hit a near ten-year high.

Tata Steel has revealed earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at £230m in the fourth quarter to March 31.

The business last year sold its loss-making Long Products division, spearheaded by the Teesside Beam Mill, near Redcar, and bosses say the company has since made “positive strides”

across the UK.

According to its latest results, released today (Tuesday, May 16), measures to improve its British operations, which have felt the effects of cheaper Chinese imports, weaker market prices and expensive business rates and energy costs, pushed quarterly EBITDA up by £267m year-on-year.

That boost, which reflected the highest quarterly figure since 2008, meant full-year European EBITDA stood at £536m, compared to a loss of £52m in the year previously.

Hans Fischer, managing director and chief executive of Tata Steel in Europe, said: “Our full-year EBITDA result benefited from more favourable market and currency tailwinds, helped also by the changes we’ve made in the UK.”

Earlier this year, The Northern Echo confirmed Tata was still in talks to secure hundreds of steel jobs at its Hartlepool pipe mills, which process steel for the offshore energy sector.

Industry sources say that if a bid is successful at Hartlepool, around 250 jobs could be safeguarded, with a similar number staying at Tata’s 20-inch mill, which is understood not to be for sale.

Tata offloaded Long Products to investor Greybull Capital for £1 and the business, subsequently renamed British Steel, has turned a profit.

However, bosses have revealed up to 70 jobs are at risk in Darlington and Skinningrove, east Cleveland, with staff expected to be replaced by machinery at its special profiles business.