Russia-based steel pipe producer ChelPipe Group (ChTPZ) has announced its operating results for the first half of the current year.
Accordingly, in the January-June period this year total ChelPipe’s pipe shipments amounted to 741,000 mt, decreasing by 24.7 percent year on year. The decrease was caused by a general decline in demand for large-diameter pipes (LDPs) from energy companies and the completion of large infrastructure projects in CIS and non-CIS countries. In particular, in the given period the company’s shipments of seamless industrial pipes decreased by 5.9 percent year on year to 254,000 mt due to both decreased activity in the construction industry and the implementation of quarantine restrictions at the company’s main enterprises. In the meantime, ChelPipe’s OCTG shipments fell by 10.9 percent year on year to 220,000 mt, caused by a decrease in the global demand for oil products generally. In the given period, the company’s LDPs shipments were recorded at 180,000 mt, more than halving year on year compared to 377,000 mt in the same period of the previous year.
ChelPipe Group expects the spread of Covid-19 will continue adversely affecting the macroeconomic situation in 2020. However, the company believes that its anti-crisis measures and its operational efficiency program as well as the forecast rebounding demand in the second half this year in a number of segments will allow ChelPipe to maintain its stable financial condition. The company intends to continue the implementation of its investment program by adopting a flexible approach to capital expenditure depending on the market environment. One of the main aims of the company is to improve productivity of the Iron Ozone 32 electric arc furnace plant to secure supply of its own-produced pipe billets.