Ukrainian Zaporizhstal's steel output declines

2017-07-17

Zaporizhstal — in which vertically integrated steelmaker Metinvest has a 49.9 percent stake — produced 276,100 tons of pig iron last month, 15.2 percent less on the year and down by 3.3 percent compared with May, while output in the first half of 2017 decreased by 9.3 percent year on year to 1.67 million tons.

Crude steel production fell by 11.7 percent on the year to 306,100 tons in June, a 5.9 percent  drop on May. In the first six months of this year, Zaporizhstal produced 1.89 million tons of crude steel, 4.8 percent lower than a year earlier.

Output of rolled steel products totalled 253,700 tons last month, down on the year by 11.4 percent, but marking a 2.3 percent month-on-month increase. The mill produced 1.58 million tons of rolled steel products in January-June, down by 8.9 percent year on year.

Zaporizhstal began the overhaul of blast furnace No. 3 in early November 2016, for which it is partially disassembling it and then refitting it with new equipment. The project is expected to reduce the company's consumption of pig iron.