Russian steel manufacturer MMK expects its sales to improve in Q3 2021 as it sees better demand for domestic steel, aided by its Turkish facility.
Additionally, the firm has also completed reconstruction of its cold rolling mill which is also projected to boost its sales and profitability, it stated. In H1 2021, MMK’s consolidated crude steel production increased by 24.5pc to 6.7mn mt compared to 5.3mn mt in the same period last year. Crude steel output in Q2 2021 rose by 3.1pc to 3.4mn mt from 3.3mn mt in Q1 2021. Total pig iron volumes in H1 2021 saw a 17.3pc hike to 5.2mn mt compared to 4.4mn mt in H1 2020 while production increased by 2.6pc to 2.6mn mt in Q2 2021 compared to 2.5mn mt in Q1 2021.
In the first half of the year, MMK’s consolidated iron ore output dropped by 1.7pc to 1.42mn mt from 1.44mn mt in the same months of 2020. In Q2 2021, iron ore production rose 25.2pc to 790,000mt from 631,000mt on a quarterly basis. MMK’s finished product sales rose by 25.3pc in H1 2021 to 6.2mn mt from 4.9mn mt H1 2020 while the sales in Q2 2021 increased 14.3pc to 3.3mn mt from 2.9mn mt in Q1 2021.