Metalloinvest crude steel production rose by 4.6pc in the first half of 2020 (H1) to 2.54mn mt from the prior H1 as a result of an increase in productivity and change of product mix at OEMK and a lower base at Ural Steel in the prior year.
In H1, Metalloinvest produced 1.3mn mt of hot metal, up by 7.2pc from the prior year period decrease y-o-y due to a drop in productivity of blast furnace #3 at Ural Steel.
| Metalloinvest’s steel production in Q2 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OEMK | Q2 2020 | Q2 2019 | Change YoY | Q1 2020 | Change QoQ |
| Pellets | 10,48,699 | 10,30,094 | 1.8% | 10,59,416 | -0.9% |
| DRI | 7,86,328 | 7,88,920 | -0.3% | 8,35,899 | -6.0% |
| Crude steel | 8,64,805 | 8,54,187 | 1.2% | 8,66,045 | -0.1% |
| Ural Steel | |||||
| Hot metal | 5,76,373 | 6,84,496 | -15.8% | 6,87,914 | -16.3% |
| Crude steel | 4,05,297 | 3,91,395 | 3.6% | 4,06,272 | -0.2% |
| Metalloinvest consolidated production | |||||
| Hot metal | 5,76,373 | 6,84,496 | -15.8% | 6,87,914 | -16.3% |
| Crude steel | 12,70,103 | 12,45,582 | 2.0% | 12,72,318 | -0.2% |
Iron ore production increased by 2.6pc to 20.2mn mt in H1 from the prior period driven by an rise in productivity on higher ore quality and a reduction in ore consumption for concentrates. In Q2, production volumes fell by 1.7pc to 9.9mn mt from the prior year quarter due mainly to a scheduled maintenance works at beneficiation workshops in Q2
In H1, pellet production rose by 0.6 to 14.2mn mt from the prior period as a result of increased productivity and a change in product mix. In Q2, pellet production fell by 2.0pc from the prior year Q2 due to the scheduled maintenance at at MGOK in the quarter.
Metalloinvest produced 4.1mn mt of HBI/DRI in H1, up by 1.6pc from the prior period.
Shipments
An analysis of the company’s sales shows a significant increase in sales to Asian markets. In Q2, shipments to Asia jumped by 146.6pc from the prior year quarter and rose by 88.7pc from Q1, while in H1, shipments to Asia increased by 60.9pc. Shipment to Middle East and Africa dropped by 13.3pc from the prior quarter.
In H1, HVA steel products shipment declined by 17.6pc to 865,000mt, while Q2 sales decreased by 21.7pc to 421,000mt.
The company’s share of HVA steel product sales decreased to 35pc in H1 from 46pc in the prior year period. In H1, pig iron and steel product sales to the Russian market decreased by 3.4pc from the prior year period.
| Metalloinvest’s consolidated sales by region | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pig iron and steel products shipment (mt) | |||||
| Q2 2020 | Q2 2019 | Change Y-o-Y | Q1 2020 | Change Q-o-Q | |
| Russia | 4,82,175 | 5,33,208 | -9.6% | 4,97,350 | -3.0% |
| Europe | 2,49,895 | 2,77,359 | -9.9% | 2,68,311 | -6.7% |
| Asia | 1,82,902 | 74,184 | 146.6% | 97,239 | 88.7% |
| MENA | 3,20,177 | 3,17,825 | 0.7% | 3,69,192 | -13.3% |
| Others | 3,74,161 | 3,59,703 | 4.0% | 3,17,242 | 18.0% |
| Total | 16,09,312 | 15,62,280 | 3.0% | 15,49,335 | 3.9% |
Metalloinvest’s pig iron shipments to third parties dropped to 0.7mn mt in H1 from 0.9mn mt in the prior year period due to a fall in hot metal production and an increase in internal pig iron consumption.
In H1, the total sales volume of iron ore to third parties dropped by 8.4pc to 13.5mn mt from the prior year period due to a rise in pellet sales to China. Pellets and HBI/DRI sales contributed to 74pc of total iron ore product sales volume in H1 2020. Share of iron ore product sales in the domestic market fell to 47pc in H1 from 55pc in the prior year period amid increased exports.