In 2009, due to the global financial crisis, the Romanian steel producers saw a 60 percent decrease in their cumulative turnover to about $1.6 billion compared to $4.3 billion in 2008, the Romanian newspaper Financiarul has reported.
According to the data issued by the World Steel Association, in 2009 Romania saw its crude steel output almost fall by half, producing 2.7 million mt compared to 5.053 million in 2008.
In 2009, ArcelorMittal Galati, Romania-based subsidiary of the world's largest integrated metals and mining company ArcelorMittal, was one of the country's most affected steel producers, with its turnover decreasing to about $1 billion compared to $2.8 billion in 2008, and its crude steel output going down by 46.5 percent year on year to 1.79 million mt, i.e., about 66.3 percent of Romania's total crude steel production. The company has not yet disclosed its net income, but said it hopes to achieve a profit in 2010 by cutting costs and increasing its capacity utilization level to 65 percent compared to 40 percent in 2009. Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal's other subsidiary ArcelorMittal Hunedoara in 2009 saw a reduction of 80 percent in its turnover to $40 million.
On the other hand, the turnover of the second largest player in the Romanian steel industry Russian mining and steel group Mechel declined by more than half in 2009 to around $330 million from $731 million in 2008. Its subsidiary Mechel Targoviste was the main contributor to this negative result. In 2009, the plant reported a 60 percent drop year on year in its turnover to around $174 million, with its production decreasing by 35 percent year on year. In addition, the company saw a loss of $33 million compared with a net income of $42.3 million in 2008.
Another Russian player in the Romanian steel market, pipemaker TMK, in 2009 posted a 50 percent decrease in its turnover from $201 million in 2008 to about $100 million, with its TMK-Resita subsidiary registering a 32 percent decrease year on year in its output.
However, the biggest decrease in turnover was registered by Tenaris Donasid Calarasi - down 80 percent year on year from $300 million in 2008 to $60 million in 2009, with its output dropping by 70 percent year on year.
According to Romanian Steel Producers' Union UniRomSider, in 2010 the country's steel industry is expected to see an increase of 5-10 percent in output year on year due to rising demand in the world steel market.