Severstal cuts steel output 5% to 3.8 mln tonnes in Q2
MOSCOW. July 27. (Interfax) - Russian steelmaker OJSC Severstal cut steel output 5% quarter-on-quarter to 3.8 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2012, the company said in a statement.
Summary of key production data ('000 tonnes):
| Production, tonnes | Q2 2012 | Q1 2012 | % change | H1 2012 | H1 2011 | % change |
| Crude steel (total output): | 3 803 314 | 3 989 725 | -5% | 7 793 039 | 7 521 346 | 4% |
| Russian steel | 2 643 000 | 2 714 900 | -3% | 5 357 900 | 5 684 975 | -6% |
| Severstal North America | 1 160 314 | 1 274 825 | -9% | 2 435 139 | 1 836 371 | 33% |
| Hot metal (total output): | 2 547 066 | 2 716 289 | -6% | 5 263 355 | 5 296 511 | -1% |
| Russian Steel | 2 084 200 | 2 226 800 | -6% | 4 311 000 | 4 419 305 | -2% |
| Severstal North America | 462 866 | 489 489 | -5% | 952 355 | 877 206 | 9% |
| Coal | 2 507 593 | 2 526 345 | -1% | 5 033 938 | 5 276 139 | -5% |
| Coking coal concentrate, including: | 1 816 313 | 1 795 760 | 1% | 3 612 073 | 3 733 297 | -3% |
| Vorkutaugol | 1 162 890 | 1 209 918 | -4% | 2 372 808 | 2 626 229 | -10% |
| PBS Coals | 653 423 | 585 842 | 12% | 1 239 265 | 1 107 068 | 12% |
| Steam coal, including: | 541 410 | 551 274 | -2% | 1 092 684 | 1 423 705 | -23% |
| Vorkutaugol | 541 106 | 541 500 | 0% | 1 082 605 | 915 647 | 18% |
| PBS Coals | 304 | 9 774 | -97% | 10 078 | 508 058 | -98% |
| Iron ore: | 3 818 525 | 3 650 223 | 5% | 7 468 748 | 6 861 462 | 9% |
| Iron ore pellets | 2 563 135 | 2 549 152 | 1% | 5 112 287 | 4 568 303 | 12% |
| Iron ore concentrate | 1 255 390 | 1 101 071 | 14% | 2 356 461 | 2 293 159 | 3% |
"As announced on July 20, 2012, PBS temporarily suspended operations at five of its 12 assets due to weak market conditions and a planned reduction of thermal coal production. The idling will not have a material impact on the Company's cash cost position and will not increase the Company's social obligations. It will allow PBS to concentrate on its most profitable operations (thermal coal production is currently fully idled). We expect that PBS's metallurgical coal production in 2012 will not be significantly lower than in the previous year. The Company will resume suspended operations as and when market conditions improve. Steam coal production at U.S.-based PBS Coals is totally suspended at the moment. The production shut-down at five of PBS Coals' 12 assets, which was announced in July, will not have much of an influence on unit production costs for the company," the statement said.
The selling price for coking coal concentrate averaged at $139 per tonne in Q2 2012, down 14%.
Severstal is a vertically integrated steelmaker with assets in Russia, the U.S., Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Italy, Liberia and Brazil. Its main beneficiary is its general director Alexei Mordashov, who, after Nordgold's spin-off, owns 79.2% of Severstal.
