According to the results of January-June this year, Metinvest reduced steel production by 45% compared to the same period last year, to 2.412 million tonnes, according to a press release from the parent company Metinvest B.V. on Wednesday.
According to the report, the production of pig iron decreased 49%, to 2.252 million tonnes, coke fell by 55%, to 1.075 million tonnes.
At the same time, in connection with the start of a large-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, from February 24, 2022, Metinvest decided to halt the manufacturing activities of its assets in Mariupol, Avdiyivka and Zaporizhia. The group’s Zaporizhia enterprises resumed their production operations later.
The group’s facilities in Mariupol and Avdiyivka have been affected by hostilities.
In the second quarter, iron and steel production amounted to 424,000 tonnes and 450,000 tonnes, respectively, which is 77% lower than in the previous quarter. In general, in the first half of 2022, the production of iron and steel amounted to 2.252 million tonnes and 2.412 million tonnes, respectively, which is 49% and 45% lower than the same period last year. The lack of production from the Mariupol steelmakers since the end of February 2022 was partly compensated by production volumes at Kamet Steel.
In addition, in the second quarter of 2022, the production of merchant semi-finished products decreased by 52% compared to the previous quarter, to 249,000 tonnes, largely due to a slump in hot metal production. In the first half of 2022, the production of merchant semi-finished products decreased by 47%, to 771,000 tonnes. This was partly compensated by the output of merchant billets at Kamet Steel, the effect of which in H1 2022 was 444,000 tonnes.
In the second quarter of 2022, the production of finished products decreased by 72% compared to the previous quarter, to 414,000 tonnes. At the same time, the production of flat products decreased by 946,000 tonnes, to 167,000 tonnes, because of the lack of production from the Mariupol steelmakers since late February 2022 and the shutdown of the Italian re-rolling plants for a scheduled maintenance in May 2022 in the absence of stable slab supplies. Production of long products decreased by 81,000 tonnes to 247,000 tonnes because of a production decline at Kamet Steel, irregular deliveries of billets from Kamet Steel to Promet Steel in Q2 2022, and the lack of production at Azovstal since the end of February 2022.
In the first half of 2022, the production of finished products decreased 46% compared to the same period last year, to 1.884 million tonnes. At the same time, the production of flat products decreased 1.658 million tonnes, to 1.281 million tonnes, the production of long products increased by 125,000 tonnes, to 575,000 tonnes following the acquisition of re-rolling facilities by Kamet Steel, which fully compensated the lack of Azovstal’s volumes since the end of February 2022 and the lower output at Promet Steel given the aforementioned reasons.
The production of rail products fell by 2,000 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes, pipe products – by 62,000 tonnes to 18,000 tonnes.
The output of the group’s coke-making assets has been affected by the war in Ukraine. Thus, in the second quarter of 2022, coke production decreased 63% compared to the previous quarter, to 292,000 tonnes, and in the first half of 2022 it fell by 55% compared to the same period last year, to 1.075 million tonnes.
