Russian-focused steel producer Evraz said Thursday that net profits fell to almost nothing in the six months ended June 30.

Evraz said net profits fell 99.5% year-on-year to $6.0 million as a strong ruble and a host of other headwinds, including those stemming from the invasion of neighboring Ukraine by Russia, had an impact on operations throughout the semester.

Underlying profit rose 19.4% to $2.5 billion due to higher coal prices and improved performance from its North American assets, while Evraz also posted a negative free cash flow of $59.0 million, a sharp turnaround from its positive free cash flow of $836.0 million at the same time a year earlier.

“Recent geopolitical tensions have resulted in significant corporate governance and operating challenges for Evraz,” Chief Executive Aleksey Ivanov said.

“On top of that, a strong rouble, lower demand for our products and increased competition in Evraz’s traditional markets present additional headwinds.”

Ivanov added that he expects geopolitical tensions, economic pressures and sanctions to continue to dictate the London-listed group’s operating environment in the second half.

As of 09:40 BST, Evraz shares remained suspended.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert on Sharecast.com