The Russian steel producer Severstal has announced that the trading companies of its Severstal Russian Steel division have sold more than 930,000 mt of steel products in 2009.
In 2009, Severstal's major Russian steel trading network Severstal-Invest registered a decrease in its sales by 30 percent year on year to 652,500 mt. The decrease is explained by the fact that in 2009 the situation in Russia was characterized by low demand (a decrease of 40-50 percent), mainly in Q1 and Q2 of the year. The rise in the steel consuming industries' activity and, consequently, the growth in steel demand and prices, which was registered in Q3-early Q4 2009, could not fully compensate the losses incurred in the previous quarters. Regardless, in 2009 Severstal-Invest managed to keep its market share in Russian steel trading.
The total sales volume of Latvia-based Severstal Lat, specialized in wholesale and servicing activities, including the production of metal sections and welded pipes, decreased in 2009 by 41 percent year on year, as consumption in the Baltic countries more than halved. In 2009, Severstal Lat's steel product output decreased by 44 percent, its sales in the Baltic countries went down by 59 percent, while its sales in other countries from Scandinavia, Western and Eastern Europe dropped by 32 percent, all compared to 2008.
Meanwhile, in 2009 Severstal trading company Severstal Belarus (Severstalbel) saw its total sales decreased by 21 percent year on year to 35,100 mt. At the same time, the company was able to increase its sales of cold rolled products by 2.3 times and to keep its long product sales at the level of 2008.
On the other hand, Severstal-Ukraine managed in 2009 to increase its sales by seven percent year on year to 23,200 mt, mainly due to deliveries of cold rolled products and due to sales of high value-added products which are not produced in Ukraine.
According to Severstal's statement, in 2010 the group expects a substantial increase in the efficiency of its trading division, due to the implementation of expansion programs which were started in 2009.