Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands), the parent company of the mining and metallurgical group Metinvest, increased its EBITDA by 11% in 2024 compared to 2023, to $957 million, according to updated data published in its annual report.
According to the report, EBITDA in the metallurgical segment grew by 82% to $289 million, while in the mining segment it remained unchanged at $768 million.
At the same time, it is specified that last year, corporate overhead costs and eliminations amounted to $100 million (in 2023 – $68 million). As a result, in 2024, the mining segment’s share in the group’s EBITDA (excluding corporate overhead costs and eliminations) was 73% compared to 83% in 2023, while the metallurgical segment’s share last year increased to 27% compared to 17% in the previous year.
The growth in the group’s EBITDA was primarily due to an increase in sales of own iron ore products, as well as billets and long products, operational improvements, the positive impact of the hryvnia’s depreciation against the US dollar on costs, increased efficiency at both joint ventures, lower raw material costs due to lower prices for coal, coke, and iron ore, and reduced purchases of third-party raw materials for rolling mills.
These factors were partially offset by lower sales prices, higher overall logistics costs, primarily due to increased sea shipments from Ukraine to distant markets, and higher energy costs, primarily due to higher electricity costs.
In 2024, the Group’s EBITDA margin was 12% (unchanged from 2023). The EBITDA margin of the mining segment was 20% (down 6 percentage points (pp) compared to 2023), while the EBITDA margin of the metallurgical segment was 6% (up 3 pp).
In 2024, net cash used in investing activities amounted to $197 million, down 34% from 2023. The total amount of cash used to acquire property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets decreased by 29% to $216 million. Interest income doubled to $13 million, while proceeds from the sale of property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets decreased slightly to $6 million.
In 2024, net cash used in financing activities amounted to $241 million, compared to $115 million in 2023. Net repayment of loans and borrowings amounted to $216 million (in 2023 – $185 million), mainly due to bond redemptions. Net trade financing amounted to $25 million, compared to $70 million a year ago.
In 2024, Metinvest adhered to a fairly balanced investment policy, dictated by wartime restrictions in Ukraine and the need to decarbonize the European steel industry. Investments in Ukraine were primarily directed toward employee safety, ensuring the availability and operation of critical equipment, strengthening energy resilience, and complying with environmental standards at the companies.
In addition, particular attention was paid to resolving logistical issues. Although most large strategic projects remained frozen, Metinvest launched a new project to concentrate enrichment waste at the Northern GOK. It aims to reduce waste volumes, lower operating and capital expenditures, and minimize environmental impact while maintaining production volumes.
At the same time, the group is also preparing for the country’s post-war recovery. Outside Ukraine, Metinvest is working on the Adria project to build a low-carbon steel plant in Italy.
The group’s total capital expenditures decreased by 17% to $235 million. Approximately 83% of this amount was allocated to maintenance projects and 17% to strategic projects.
Metinvest increased the capacity utilization of most of its enterprises. This was an important achievement for the group, given the prolonged impact of the war. The resumption of shipping in the Black Sea played a decisive role in our work. This ensured a reliable export route and allowed us to increase delivery volumes. At the same time, significant challenges remained. Throughout the year, power outages had a negative impact on profitability. In addition, despite incredible resilience throughout most of the year, the approaching front line forced us to gradually suspend operations at the Pokrovsk Coal Group,” said Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of the group, in the report.
As reported, Metinvest’s consolidated net loss in 2024 increased sixfold compared to 2023, to $1.152 billion from $194 million, while revenue rose to $8.050 billion from $7.397 billion.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical companies. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine, in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as well as in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The main shareholders of the holding company are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the managing company of the Metinvest Group.
