Metinvest cuts capex 20% to $284 mln in 2023, spends almost half on Prokrovskugol
MOSCOW. June 6 (Interfax) - Metinvest B.V., the Netherlands-based parent company of Ukrainian mining and steel group Metinvest, reduced capital expenditures by 19.8% to $284 million in 2023 from $354 million a year earlier.
The group invested $65 million in its metallurgical division and $213 million in its mining division in 2023, down from respectively $99 million and $244 million in 2022, Ukrainian media reported the company as saying in a presentation on the Irish Stock Exchange.
Capex in Metinvest Pokrovskugol, which manages the Pokrovsk Coal Group, rose 15.6% to $126 million in 2023, and capex in Kamet Steel (formerly Dneprovsky Metallurgical Plant) and iron ore producer Central GOK rose 5% and 6.7%, respectively, to $42 million and $16 million.
The group reduced capex by 29.5% to $31 million in Northern GOK, 58.1% to $13 million in Ingulets GOK, 47.5% to $21 million in United Coal (United States) and 53.3% to $35 million in other assets.
The company said the share of sustaining capex grew by 6 percentage points to 86% in 2023 and strategic investment amounted to only 14%.
Nonetheless, the company said it is continuing work on a strategy for key projects. Maintenance projects are being carried out to ensure a proper level of capacity and ability to increase production at existing Ukrainian divisions after the end of the conflict.
Meanwhile, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) reported that it provided a new short-term facility of 10 million euros to a Metinvest subsidiary.
The loan is intended "to enhance the export of iron ore products of the Group by facilitating committed working capital financing," and it "will bolster Metinvest's export capabilities and support its production continuity in Ukraine," the bank said in a press release.
"By facilitating the export of iron ore products to Metinvest's key partners, we are not only supporting a vital sector but also contributing to the broader stability and growth of Ukraine's economy during these challenging times," BSTDB president Serhat Koksal said in the press release.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and steel companies that is 71.24% owned by SCM and 23.76% by Smart Holding.
