Dutch Metinvest B. V. (Metinvest), the parent company of a vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies of Rinat Akhmetov and Vadim Novinsky, reported a sharp reduction in steel production in the fourth quarter of 2019.
"the steel Production in the 4th quarter of 2019 has decreased by 16% compared to the previous quarter – up to 1,673 thousand tonnes due to lower production of iron and its redistribution in favor of production of commodity cast iron in the result of revival in demand for this product amid lower demand for slabs and finished products", – stated in the message of Metinvest.
in addition, in the 4th quarter of 2019 the production of pig iron at plants of the company decreased by 7% compared to the previous quarter – up to 1 887 thousand tonnes due to scheduled capital repairs at blast furnaces in Mariupol plants.
"Production of Azovstal iron and steel works (Azovstal) decreased by 36 thousand tons from-for stops on the repair of blast furnace No. 2 and boiler. Illicha (MMKI) – 110 thousand tons due to a stop for repairs of blast furnace №3, while decided to postpone its commissioning in 1st quarter of 2020 due to reduced demand in the steel market," - said the press service of Metinvest.
In the 4th quarter of 2019 the production of finished products decreased by 20% compared to the previous quarter and amounted to 1 139 thousand tons.
However, the steel production in 2019 increased by 3% compared to the previous year – up to 7 578 thousand tonnes owing to increased production at Ilyich steel and 321 thousand tons thanks to the launch of the new machine the continuous casting machine No. 4. The decrease in steel production at Azovstal 66 thousand tons was the result of a decline in iron production.
In 2019, the production of finished products decreased by 3% compared to the 2018 – to 5 595 thousand tons.
theKey performance indicators
| (kt) | Q3 2019 | ∆ kt | ∆ % | 12 m 2019 | 12 m 2018 | ∆ kt | ∆ % |
| Steel | 1,982 | -309 | -16% | 7,578 | 7,323 | 255 | 3% |
| Iron ore concentrate (total) | 7,295 | -17 | 0% | 29,028 | 27,353 | 1,675 | 6% |
| Coal concentrate (total) | 777 | 2 | 0% | 2,961 | 2,683 | 278 | 10% |
METINVEST Group is a vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies that manages every link of the supply chain, from mining to processing ore and coal, and the production and sale of semi-finished and finished steel products. The structure of the Group consists of mining and metallurgical enterprises located in Ukraine, Europe and USA and has sales network covering all key global markets.
