Steel Invest & Finance S.A. (SIF), the joint venture between Russian steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel (
NLMK) and Swiss-headquartered Duferco Group, in 2010 increased its steel product sales by 22 percent year on year to 3.4 million mt, due to stable demand in
Europe and the United States.
Accordingly, roughly 75 percent of SIF's sales were directed to the machine-building sector. About 40 percent of sales consisted of hot rolled steel and pickled steel, 17 percent were accounted for by cold rolled steel, 18 percent consisted of
coated steel, while thick plates accounted for 17 percent. SIF's sales revenue in 2010 was $2.8 billion, while its EBITDA amounted to $52 million.
In 2010
NLMK increased its
slab sales to the rolling facilities of SIF to 1.5 million mt, up 25 percent year on year, while in 2011
NLMK plans to increase its
slab deliveries to SIF assets to over two million mt.
Currently,
NLMK is negotiating the parameters of a deal to acquire SIF assets. This step will allow
NLMK to secure stable deliveries of steel products to established markets and diversify its product mix, increasing flat product capacities by almost twofold.