Brazilian flat steelmaker Usiminas expects its steel sales volume to reach between 1.2mn mt to 1.3mn mt in the second quarter this year, driven by higher demand from the domestic market.
Production
The company’s crude steel production rose by 1.2pc 780,000mt in the first quarter this year, from 771,000mt in the same period the prior year on higher demand for the automotive industry, Sergio Leite de Andrade, chief executive, said during a call with analysts to present the company’s Q1 results.
The rolled steel production climbed by 20.2pc to 1.29mn mt in Q1, from 1.07mn mt in the same period of 2020. Also, in the first quarter of this year, 670,000mt of purchased slabs were processed, up by 82.1pc from 368,000mt in Q1 2020.
The company’s iron ore production, on the other hand, fell by 8pc to 1.98mn mt in the first quarter, from 2.15mn mt in the same period the prior year, due to stoppage at one of the processing plants for equipment maintenance and higher levels of rainfall in the Southeast region, it said without disclosing further details.
Sales
The company’s steel sales volume rose by 20pc to 1.25mn mt in the first quarter this year, from 1.04mn mt in the same period of 2020. The steel exports were mainly for Argentina (60pc), Mexico (34pc), Colombia, and Europe with (3pc), respectively. Of the total sales volume for the domestic market, 35.5pc was allocated to the automotive industry, 32.9pc to the distribution industry, and 31.5pc to the general industry.
Iron ore sales, on the other hand, went down by 12pc to 1.94mn mt in the first quarter, from 2.21mn mt in the same period the prior year. Of this sales volume, the Brazilian steelmaker exported 1.53mn mt in the first quarter, from 1.43mn mt shipped in the same month the prior year.
Usiminas posted a net income of BRL1.20bn ($221.9mn) in Q1, from a net loss of BRL424mn reached in the same period the prior year. Its adjusted Ebitda climbed by 325pc to BRL2.42bn in Q1 2021, from BRL569mn in the same period the prior year.
The company’s net revenue also rose by 86pc to BRL7.06bn in Q1 2021, from BRL3.80bn in Q1 2020. The company’s Capex in the first quarter reached BRL239mn, from BRL182mn in the same period the prior year. Of the total amount invested, 78.4pc was allocated for the steelmaking units, 18.7pc for the mining units, and 2.9pc for the other units.
($1=BRL5.42)