French tube maker Vallourec saw revenues for its South America division remain stable in the first half (H1) of the year, the company said this week, reaching EUR 317 million, compared to EUR 315 million in H1 2017.
Revenues at the South American business accounted for 17.2 percent the company’s overall revenues for H1 this year, down from 18.4 percent in H1 2017.
“In Brazil, we are starting to execute our new long-term contracts with (state-run oil producer) Petrobras and are ideally positioned to capture opportunities,” the company said in its H1 earnings release.
Vallourec said industry and other revenue in Brazil rose due to higher volumes in mechanical engineering and automotive applications thanks to the recovery of the Brazilian economy.
Vallourec added its blast furnace and steel production facilities in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, were shut down “as planned” in mid-July.
Vallourec owns an 84.6 percent stake at Vallourec Soluções Tubulares do Brasil, along with Nippon Steel (15 percent) and Sumitomo Corporation (0.4 percent). The plant produces seamless steel tubes out of its Jeceaba plant in the city of same name in the state of Minas Gerais.
The Jeceaba mill is a new facility combining an EAF using scrap metal and a blast furnace using iron ore extracted in Vallourec’s mine in Brumadinho. The unused surplus of iron ore is sold locally.
Vallourec also owns Vallourec Mineração and Tubos Soldados do Atlantico (TSA).