The Russian steelmaking group Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) expects to keep its Q2 2010 EBITDA and steel production volume at the level of Q1, but anticipates growth in revenue, MMK's CFO Oleg Fedonin said during a telephone conference on Friday.
Mr. Fedonin noted that in June this year demand and market prices began to decline, and so MMK will adjust its production plans for June and July in a downward direction.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, in Q1 2010 MMK registered a net profit of $94 million, up from a $110 million loss in the same period last year, while its EBITDA more than tripled to $364 million from $99 million. The growth in results was mainly due to the increased average prices and to the expanding share of high value-added products. The demand for steel was sustained by pipe producers and carmakers, the latter supported by state-sponsored scrapping program to encourage consumers to buy more cars.