Metallurgical company Severstal expects global steel prices in the first quarter and improved its sales compared to the fourth quarter, said chief financial officer Alexei Kulichenko.
"We have seen the market turn from the point of view of prices from mid-November... but we believe it today to some extent already reached the peak, and do not expect any further growth, but of course the average will certainly better fourth quarter," he told reporters.
According to him, the results "from the point of view of volumes" will be "somewhat better" in the fourth quarter, when consolidated sales of Severstal fell by 6% by the third quarter to 2.65 million tons.
Kulichenko also said that this year the company has no need to market debt and equity, to the end of the year Severstal plans to stay in the comfort for yourself area debt burden below one, expecting net debt/EBITDA by the end of 2020 will be at the level of 0.8-0.9 x compared to 0.6 x at end-2019.
