The global economy has been overshadowed by significant uncertainty and increased volatility in 2025. Considering the current geopolitical situation, I am pleased that we have local stainless steel production in both Europe and the U.S. with strong market positions. Additionally, we own the only chrome mine in the EU area. Our geographically diversified footprint and strong balance sheet give us resilience to operate in this uncertain environment.
Our U.S. business has been suffering from high Asian imports putting pressure on stainless steel prices. As the second biggest local producer, the tariffs in general support our business in the U.S. Also, we are the only local stainless steel producer in Mexico, where part of the material melted in the U.S. is cold rolled. Most of that material is sold to the Mexican market and only a small share is shipped directly to the U.S.
As geopolitics and global supply chains have shifted, it is now even more important to ensure access to critical raw materials. I am pleased with all the actions we have taken in this area. As a critical raw material, ferrochrome is excluded from the U.S. tariffs. Moreover, we recently signed a long-term off-take agreement to secure our future supply of low-emission molybdenum, a crucial material in advanced materials production.
During the first quarter, we progressed steadily with our short-term cost saving measures and achieved EUR 11 million of the targeted EUR 50 million for this year. We also proceeded well with our structural EBITDA run-rate improvement program. In the first quarter, we reached an improvement of EUR 26 million, representing a cumulative improvement of EUR 313 million. I am confident that we will achieve our EUR 350 million target by year-end.
In the first quarter, our adjusted EBITDA reached EUR 49 million while stainless steel deliveries seasonally increased by 11% from a very low level we saw in the fourth quarter. Throughout the quarter, stainless steel demand remained muted, and tariffs caused further uncertainty. On the other hand, our business area Ferrochrome again provided stability and delivered its best quarter since the second quarter of 2022.
In business area Europe, our operations in Finland were affected by the unfortunate one-week strike resulting in an adjusted EBITDA impact of approx. EUR -15 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached EUR 6 million and stainless steel deliveries increased by 11% compared to the previous quarter. Despite of an uptick in order intake at the beginning of the year, the “wait and see” mode prevailed in the European market and imports continued to put pressure on stainless steel prices. It is important to have a level playing field also in Europe and therefore, we have been actively participating in the discussions regarding the recent Steel and Metals Action Plan.
In business area Americas, adjusted EBITDA reached EUR 11 million and stainless steel deliveries increased by 13% compared to the previous quarter. However, the U.S. economic outlook is uncertain with low consumer confidence and higher inflation expectations.
In business area Ferrochrome, our operational performance was excellent and adjusted EBITDA reached EUR 43 million. This was a result of a solid demand for our European low-emission ferrochrome and successful cost management through electricity optimization.
As a highlight of the quarter, I would like to emphasize that our recycled material content reached a record high level of 97% and we proceeded well towards our SBTi climate target. Unfortunately, our safety performance slightly weakened compared to last year and TRIFR was 1.9 in the first quarter. We have carefully analyzed the causes of the deterioration and taken swift actions to return to our targeted level.
Finally, I want to thank the entire Outokumpu team for their dedication and resilience amid ongoing geopolitical and trade turbulence. I also extend my appreciation to our customers and suppliers for their continued trust. We look forward to sharing our new strategy at Capital Markets Day on June 11, 2025 – a virtual event open to all. I hope many of you will join us.