Ukrainian mining and steel producing group Metinvest has announced its operational results for the first nine months of the current year.
Accordingly, in the first nine months, Metinvest’s total output of pig iron increased by five percent year on year to 6.37 million mt, partly due to a 226,000 increase in production at Azovstal, which launched its highly efficient blast furnace No. 3 following its major overhaul and upgrade in June 2019. In addition, Ilyich Steel’s pig iron production was up by 104,000 due to a low-base effect caused by the shutdown of blast furnace No. 5 for an overhaul in May-July 2019.
In the January-September period this year, Metinvest’s crude steel output totaled 6.15 million mt, increasing by four percent year on year, mainly due to a 168,000 increase in production at Ilyich Steel amid a reallocation of pig iron to steelmaking after the launch of new equipment.
In the first nine months of the current year, Metinvest’s production of merchant semi-finished products amounted to 2.50 million mt, increasing by 11 percent year on year, mainly due to higher merchant slab production at the Mariupol steel mills following the commissioning of the new continuous casting machine No. 4 at Ilyich Steel, as well as due to heightened demand.
In the given period, the group’s production of finished steel declined by two percent year on year to 4.35 million mt. In particular, its flats production fell by 162,000 mt year on year to 3.56 million mt, primarily due to lower production of hot rolled plates, which was partly compensated by higher output of HRC after Ilyich Steel launched its reconstructed hot strip mill 1700 amid steady market demand for that product.
In the mining sector, Metinvest’s total iron ore concentrate output rose by five percent compared to the same period of the previous year to 22.82 million mt. Meanwhile, the group’s output of merchant iron ore products rose by 12 percent year on year to 14.38 million mt. In particular, its merchant concentrate output increased by 52 percent to 10.70 million mt due to a greater overall concentrate output and changes in the order book at Northern GOK, while the output of iron ore pellets fell by 37 percent year on year to 3.68 million mt in the first nine months of the current year.
Metinvest’s coking coal concentrate output in the first nine months rose by three percent year on year to 2.25 million mt, due to the commissioning of new mining sections.