Mexican steelmaker Altos Hornos de Mexico's (AHMSA) No. 6 blast furnace has achieved its designed daily output capacity of 4,000 mt, having been put into production in April this year.
AHMSA aims to increase its annual crude steel production capacity to 5 million mt by the end of 2012 through its ‘Fenix Project'. The Fenix Project includes construction of an electric furnace, a ladle furnace, a continuous casting machine, and some ancillary facilities such as oxygen factories and power stations.
In the second quarter of the current year, AHMSA's net profit increased by 45 percent year on year to $68 million. Its net sales revenues for the period were up 18 percent year on year to $860 million. In the first six months of the current year, AHMSA sold 1.62 million mt of steel, of which 205,000 mt was exported.