The Russian steelmaker MMK Group has released its operational results for the second quarter and the first half of the current year.
Accordingly, in the second quarter, the company recorded a 3.8 percent decrease in its crude steel output to 3.02 million mt and a 5.3 percent decline in its pig iron output to 2.27 million mt, both compared to the previous quarter. In the second quarter, MMK’s finished steel shipments totaled 2.76 million mt, down 2.4 percent from the first quarter.
Meanwhile, in the first six months, MMK's crude steel production amounted to 6.17 million mt, up 1.3 percent, while the company’s pig iron output increased by 0.7 percent to 4.68 million mt, both year on year. In the first half of this year, MMK’s finished steel shipments amounted to 5.59 million mt, up 2.5 percent compared to the same period of 2017.
MMK stated that currently it expects sustainable demand for its products from domestic customers, which together with completion of scheduled maintenance and equipment modernization should lead to an increase in finished products sales in the third quarter.
The company expects the stabilization of steel prices in exports markets to support domestic prices and limit their correction over a period of weaker business activity.