Interpipe withdrew from the JV with the French due to tariff restrictions on the EU steel market
Ukrainian industrial company Interpipe of businessman Viktor Pinchuk has terminated its participation in a joint venture with the French Vallourec due to continuing and increasing restrictions on the steel market in the European Union. This was reported in Interfax-Ukraine with reference to the presentation data of the Ukrainian company based on the results of work for nine months of 2021.
“Indeed, there is such a phrase in the presentation. Interpipe terminated cooperation with Vallourec within the framework of a joint venture established in April 2018 for the production of line pipes with their subsequent sale in the EU market, ”the Interpipe press service said.
They explained that the supply of Ukrainian pipes to the EU is strictly quoted by European legislation, and additional volumes are subject to a protective duty.
“At the moment, Interpipe and Vallourec no longer manufacture and sell pipe products on the EU market within the framework of the JV. Since October, line pipes on the European market have been sold under the Interpipe brand, as it was before the establishment of the joint venture, ”the company’s information summarizes.
The Ukrainian-French joint venture was established in 2018 for the production of so-called line pipes, general-purpose pipes, as well as products for mechanical engineering. On the European market, Ukrainian pipes were sold under the Vallourec brand.
The company's presentation says that Interpipe in January-September of this year received $ 32.338 million in net profit, while for the same period last year it amounted to $ 162.458 million. EBITDA of Interpipe decreased in the reporting period by 30% - to $ 151 million, while capital expenditures increased by 65% - to $ 45 million.
Interpipe is one of the ten largest manufacturers of seamless pipes in the world, and is the third largest manufacturer of solid-rolled railway wheels in the world.
The company has five industrial assets: Interpipe Nizhnedneprovsk Pipe Rolling Plant (NTZ), Interpipe Novomoskovsk Pipe Plant (NMPP), Interpipe Niko-Tube, Dnepropetrovsk Vtormet and the Dniprostal electric steel-making complex under the brand Interpipe Steel.