Ferrexpos’ pellet production increased by 6pc to 4.6mn mt in the first five months of 2020 compared to 4.3mn in the same period in 2019.
The company said COVID-19 did not cause adverse impact on operations and sales volumes incresaed by around 21pc in May 2020 from the same period in 2019. Higher sales were driven by strong production, de-stocking and the company’s ability to offset weaker demand in Europe through increased sales to Asia.
The iron ore fines price has remained resilient year to date while lower freight rates and production costs in the five-month period compensated for weaker pellet premiums, Ferrexpo indicated.
The steelmaker continues the strong pellet production established in Q1 2020 as it increased 7.4pc compared to the same period last year.