Russia-based TMK, one of the world's leading oil and gas steel pipe producers, has announced its operational results for the first nine months of the current year.
In the January-September period, TMK shipped 2.934 million mt of steel pipes to customers, representing a 7.1 percent decrease compared to the same period of last year. Shipments in the third quarter rose by 1.5 percent quarter on quarter to 977,000 mt.
In the first nine months of the year, seamless pipe shipments decreased by 2.7 percent year on year to 1.8 million mt. Shipments of seamless pipes in the third quarter declined by 1.3 percent quarter on quarter to 586,000 mt.
TMK's welded pipe shipments dropped by 13.4 percent year on year in the first nine months to 1.135 million mt, mainly due to a decline in sales of welded OCTG and welded line pipe across the American division. The third quarter welded pipe shipments were up by six percent compared to the second quarter, totaling 391,000 mt.
In the January-September period of the current year, TMK's oil country tubular good (OCTG) shipment volumes decreased by 23 percent year on year to 1.092 million mt, while in the third quarter shipment volumes registered a 3.4 percent increase compared to the second quarter, rising to 339,000 mt.
Shipments of premium connections amounted to 482,000 joints in the first nine months of 2015, down 31.2 percent year on year, with shipment volumes down 25.3 percent quarter on quarter in the third quarter this year. The decrease in shipments of premium products was triggered by the suspension of a number of complex oil and gas projects in North America due to the slump in global hydrocarbon prices.
Strong performance of the Russian division, more efficient working capital management and better financial terms of contracts with key Russian customers allowed TMK to generate strong cash flow and significantly reduce debt in the third quarter.