Gerdau’s crude steel production increased 17pc in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year, driven by strong demand from the industrial and construction sectors both in Brazil and abroad.
In its semi-annual report, the Brazilian company reported that its crude steel production reached 6.6mn mt in H1 2021, from 5.6mn mt produced in the first six months of last year.
Gerdau’s output climbed 42pc in Q2 2021 to 3.4mn mt from 2.4mn mt in the same period of 2020.
Steel sales also grew by 25pc between January and June this year, to 6.4mn mt from 5mn mt in the first half of 2020. In Q2 2021, the jump was 36pc, to 3.2mn mt from 2.3mn mt in the same period a year ago.
The Brazilian steelmaker’s net revenue increased 97pc in H1 2021, to BRL35.4bn ($6.7bn) from BRL17.9bn in the same year-ago period. The second quarter of 2020 saw a 119pc increase in Gerdau’s net revenue, to BRL19.1bn from BRL8.7bn in the April-June 2020 period.
($1 = BRL5.23)