In the third quarter of 2009, the main players in the Romanian metallurgical market, including the plants held by the world's largest metals and mining company ArcelorMittal, by Russian mining and steel group Mechel and by Russian pipemaker TMK, registered a 52 percent decrease year on year in their turnover to RON 753.4 million (about $263.7 million), while their net losses amounted to RON 29.8 million (about $10.4 million) compared to the net profit of RON 96.3 million (approx. $33.71 million) in the same period last year, the Romanian daily financial newspaper Ziarul Financiar reports.
Accordingly, the Q3 decline in the Romanian metallurgical companies' turnover was stronger than that registered in the first half of the year, which had amounted to 42 percent year on year, thus indicating a worsening of market conditions especially for major producers in the domestic steel industry.
In Q3 2009, ArcelorMittal's Romania-based pipemaking subsidiary ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Roman and Mechel's steelmaking subsidiary Mechel Targoviste registered decreases of 60 percent year on year in their turnover to RON 79.5 million ($27.83 million) and RON 148.9 million ($52.1 million) respectively. Meanwhile, TMK's Slatina-based subsidiary TMK-Artrom posted a 57 percent decrease year on year in its Q3 turnover to RON 90.4 million ($31.64 million), while Mechel's plant at Campia Turzii registered a turnover of RON 94.1 million ($33 million), down 56 percent year on year.
In these conditions, most Romanian steel mills have recorded losses after the substantial profits which they registered last year.
USD 1 = RON 2.8568