Peru’s steelmaker Aceros Arequipa has approved an additional investment of $23mn for its new 2.5mn mt EAF mill and another $43mn to modernize one of its rolling mills.
The company had originally invested $220mn in the new EAF, which is being built in the city of Pisco, and with the additional funds, the total investment is now $243mn.
Modernizing one of its rolling mills will allow the company to manufacture profiles and round bars, more efficiently and sustainably, noted Aceros Arequipa in a statement on Apr 29. While more funds for the EAF will allow the steelmaker to produce a greater range of steel grades and expand its product portfolio.
The new mill is expected to commence operations in May and reach full capacity in November 2021, the company said at the beginning of the year, adding that with this new facility the company will be able to export to Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, and Chile.
The company’s steel sales climbed by 76.9pc to PEN1.12bn ($297.8mn) in Q1 2021, from PEN637.2mn reached in the same period the prior year. The company posted a net profit of PEN195.3mn in Q1, up from a net profit of PEN39.3mn achieved in Q1 2020, the company said in a different press release on April 29, without disclosing its crude steel production. The Peruvian company’s Ebitda also rose by 225pc to PEN297.2mn in Q1, from its Q1 2020 Ebitda of PEN91.5mn.
Peru’s crude steel production declined by 45.4pc to 671,000mt in 2020, from 1.23mn mt the prior year, according to the latest figures released by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).