Metalloinvest grew its iron ore output last quarter because the quality of the concentrate improved, thereby reducing how much of it was used.
The company grew its production by 7.2pc last quarter to 10.3mn mt from 9.6mn mt of iron ore in Q1 2019. Out of pellets in Q1 2020 also rose by 3.4pc to 7mn mt from 6.8mn mt a year earlier because of increased efficiency.
Hot briquetted iron (HBI) production increased in Q1 by 3.2pc to 2.08mn mt from 2.02mn mt in Q1 2019, while hot metal increased by 1.5pc to 688,000mt from 678,000mt in Q1 2019. The company’s crude steel production in Q1 2020 rose by 7.3pc to 1.2mn mt from 1.8mn mt during the same quarter a year ago mainly because a blast furnace was reconstructed in Q1 2019.
Iron ore shipments in the first quarter of the year also increased by 13.4pc to 1.8mn mt from 1.6mn mt in Q1 2019. Also last quarter, pellet shipments surged by 17.2pc to 3.9mn mt from 3.3mn mt during the same period in 2019.
However, HBI shipments declined by 3.9pc in the first quarter of the year to 1.1mn mt from 1.2mn mt in Q1 2019, and pig iron shipments fell by 30.5 pc to 370,000mt from 532,000mt. However, steel product shipments in Q1 2020 rose by 5.2pc to 1.18mn mt from1.12mn mt in the first quarter of 2019.
The firm’s revenue declined by 17.2pc to $1.5bn in Q1 2020 from $1.8bn during the same period in 2019, while its EBITDA dropped by 26.8pc to $534mn from $730mn during the comparable period. The company’s net income plummeted in Q1 2020 by 84.6pc to $83mn from $539mn in first quarter of 2019.
Metalloinvest is one of the largest suppliers for the metals transport sector. Its subsidiary, Ural Steel, has collaborated with the IP Bardin Central Research Institute to produce 100-meter rails to supply to Aktobe Rail and Section Work. This project started in 2018 and has been perfected to meet the specified technical requirements.