Metinvest ups steel output 1%, coke down 13% in H1

MOSCOW. Aug 13 (Interfax) - Ukrainian mining and metals holding Metinvest raised crude steel output almost 1% year-on-year in H1 2024 to 1.042 million tonnes, Ukrainian media quoted the holding's parent company Metinvest B.V. as saying in a report.

Hot metal output fell 4% to 884,000 tonnes and coke fell 13% to 563,000 tonnes.

Output of merchant semi-finished products fell 25% to 375,000 tonnes "due to greater internal consumption at the downstream stages of production," the company said.

Finished roll output grew 4% to 1.189 million tonnes, with output of galvanised cold-rolled coils up 2.3-fold due to the resumption of operation of the inductor No.4 at Unisteel in Ukraine after its shutdown for a major overhaul in Q2 2023. Output of long products grew 14% to 644,000 tonnes due to an increase in the product order book at Kamet Steel in Ukraine and Promet Steel in Bulgaria. Output of flat products fell 6% to 545,600 tonnes mainly because of a lack of profitable orders for hot-rolled coils.

In Q2 2024, output of hot metal at Kamet Steel increased 19% compared with the previous quarter to 481.000 tonnes. This was mainly due to blast furnace No. 9 resuming operations after shutting down for a major overhaul in March 2024. Additionally, there was an increase in the order book for steel products, primarily in the local market. As a result, output of crude steel rose 22% to 572,000 tonnes.

Output of merchant semi-finished products rose 26% QoQ to 209,000 tonnes in Q2 2024, mainly because of a larger order book for merchant billets..

Output of finished roll grew 3% QoQ to 604,000 tonnes with long products up 13% to 342,000 rubles but flat products down 7% to 262,000 tonnes mainly because of the challenging European market environment and the use of cheaper Russian slabs by competitors, among other factors.

Coke production was level with the previous quarter in Q2 at 281,000 tonnes.

Metinvest is a vertically integrated mining and metals group. Its main shareholders are SCM group with a 71.24% stake, and Smart Holding with 23.76%.