Severstal Distribution grows earnings in first half

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Russia’s Severstal says that its distribution arm saw its markets rise, then fall in the first half of 2016, Kallanish learns from the steelmaker. Although this affected revenues, earnings increased due to a combination of decreasing expenses and an increase in higher added value sales, the company says.

Market demand, and hence prices, had fluctuated in Severstal Distribution’s main markets of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Northern and Central Europe in H1 2016. Prices fell first of all at the beginning of the year, then rose in March, peaked in April-May and then fell back towards the end of the period.

“In the first half of 2016 Severstal Distribution improved its performance compared to H1 2015,” says the head of Severstal’s distribution division Andrey Alexeev. “We continue to develop metal processing, which allows us to get an additional premium from products with higher added value sales. In the first half of 2016, the volume of sales of products of our steel service centres saw an increase of 19% compared to the same period last year to 190,000 tonnes,” Alexeev adds.

Revenues in H1 2016 fell by -5% year-on-year to $326 million for its distribution arm, Severstal confirms. Ebitda increased however to $27 million, an increase of 57% year-on-year over the same period.

HSG 246 Safety In The Storage And Handling Of Steel And Other Metal Stock

NASS

NASS announces the updated HSG 246 Safety In The Storage And Handling Of Steel And Other Metal Stock written in conjunction with the HSE and Wolverhampton City Council is now available as a free download from the HSE website and NASS website.

This revised guidance is aimed at directors, owners, managers and supervisors and pays particular attention to the most common hazards, including (un)loading of delivery vehicles, storage systems, workplace transport, mechanical lifting and injuries from sharp edges.

Please note this document will be the main point of reference for HSE Inspectors investigating Steel Service Centres facilities going forward.

For any further information please contact the NASS Office.

Please also see Safe Loading and Unloading of Steel Products

 

EUROMETAL Steel Net Forum IBERIA is open for registration

Dear Steel Distribution & Steel Trade Stakeholders, EUROMETAL is pleased to invite you to participate in a next EUROMETAL Steel Net Forum IBERIA, to be convened in Porto, Crowne Plaza Hotel, from 10-11 November 2016.

In the agenda you may find the flyer regarding EUROMETAL Steel Net Forum Iberia, hosted by Portuguese steel distribution federation AÇOMEFER and supported by Spanish steel distribution federation UAHE.

Please note that during the conference a Portuguese/Spanish/English simultaneously translation service will be available.

The conference hotel offers a preferred room booking rate till 30 September 2016.

Make use of the hotel booking form and mail it back to acomefer@sapo.pt.

To register to the event may we kindly ask you to make use of the registration form included in the flyer and mail it back to acomefer@sapo.pt before 31. October 2016.

SNF IBERIA in Porto – HOTEL RESERVATION

SNF IBERIA in Porto – AGENDA & REGISTRATION

Severstal Distribution increases sales despite weaker demand

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Severstal Distribution, the service and trading network of Severstal Russian Steel’s division that operates in the CIS and the EU, increased its January-June 2016 sales by 9% year-on-year to 770,000 metric tons.

This represents roughly 15% of the division’s total 5.26 million mt steel sales in the first half of this year, according to results posted by Severstal Distribution.

The trading firm managed to increase sales, despite the decline in Russian steel demand, thanks to a larger variety of processing capabilities and faster, cheaper transport services.

Severstal Distribution said it has expanded its service range because, in addition to its own steel service centers, it has also started to use the metal processing facilities of its partner firms. It has also partnered with more trucking companies in order to cut delivery times and be able to provide its clients with more competitive shipping costs.

Severstal Distribution unites five regional units based in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia and Poland.

— Ekaterina Bouckley

Klöckner increases income in Q2, EU outlook brighter

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Germany-based distributor and service center operator Klöckner & Co significantly increased its operating income (EBIDTA) in Q2 to €72 million, owing to steel price increases and the implementation of digital pricing tools that react quicker to price sensitivity, CEO Gisbert Rühl said in a press call on Thursday.

The distributor expects continued profit growth during Q3, but highlights that steel prices are likely to stop increasing further and to stagnate in Europe (see related article).

Klöckner improved its EBIDTA by €36 million year-on-year in Q2 after being hit hard by steel price deterioration mid-2015. In a quarter-on-quarter comparison, EBIDTA grew by €56 million. The price recovery, however, did not have as much effect on the sales figures, which decreased 10.4% y-o-y to €1.5 billion, resulting from still lower price levels on average and site closures in Europe. Shipments remained stable at 1.6 million metric ton y-o-y in Q2, while showing seasonal increases of 5.6% from Q1.

According to Rühl, introducing digital pricing tools that react more quickly to market developments has helped the distributor to benefit more from price increases than previously when pricing was done “offline”. Klöckner wants to increase its revenue coming from digital sales to 50% by 2019 from around 10% now.

The firm also announced a “one Europe” programme to streamline and centralise the management structure of its European distribution services by the end of 2018. As reported, the distributor will reduce its workforce by around 100 jobs and create two regional headquarters for Europe so as to have a more transnational approach. The job cuts will mainly affect Spain, France and the UK, but will not involve closures of actual stockholding sites, Rühl told Platts.

While both the European and the US businesses regained strength in Q2, Klöckner sees decreasing steel demand in the US for the year continuing as oil prices remain low. Where European demand is forecast to increase by 3%, US demand is expected to fall by 3% despite a strong automotive market. Klöckner expects an EBIDTA between €65 million and €75 million for Q3.

— Laura Varriale

thyssenkrupp fully acquires Spain’s Ros Casares SSC

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Germany’s thyssenkrupp Materials Processing has assumed full ownership of Thyssen Ros Casares, a steel service centre in El Puig, South Eastern Spain, the company tells Kallanish.

The German company in the past had held a 50% share, but management was in the hands of the Ros family, from which the other half has now been acquired. The site in El Puig north of Valencia has an area of 39,000 m² on which it operates three slitting and two cutting lines. It processes hot-rolled, cold-rolled and surface coated steels, mainly for the automotive industry in the region, a spokesman says.

The Spanish site will now also be known as thyssenkrupp Materials Processing. The thyssenkrupp unit, headquartered in Krefeld, recently stepped up its expansion to form a Europe-wide service network, adding a site in Györ, Hungary, and another in Willich, Germany.

On the Iberian peninsula, the German group already operates cold-rolling mill Lamincer S.A. in Munguia, Spain with a potential annual output of 40,000t, and a warehouse in Portugal, Palmetal Armazenagem e Serviços in Palmela. Palmetal was established in 1993 to service Volkswagen, but today also has other customers.

thyssenkrupp took full ownership of both of the above companies in 2009, making them part of today’s thyssenkrupp Materials Processing business area.

NASS Steel Industry Training Programmes 2016

NASS

Please follow the links below to find more information about NASS Training Courses 2016

Health and Safety Passport Plus                               
19th & 20th October 2016
NASS Office, Birmingham

This is an advanced Health & Safety programme to enable employees in positions of responsibility to manage workplace Health and Safety and promote a safe working culture throughout the business. Designed for supervisors, team leaders and managers in the steel service centre industry, the Health & Safety Passport PLUS course has been designed by the metals industry for the metals industry, has been piloted by the NASS Health & Safety Committee and is RoSPA accredited. Participants who wish to extend their qualification may also take an NVQ in this subject, gained through the completion of a project at their own place of work, regular site visits will be made by the trainer to offer support.

NASS Introduction to Steel Metallurgy
2nd November 2016
NASS Office, Birmingham

The Introduction to Steel Metallurgy provides an overview of the basic principles of ferrous Metallurgy and how steel products are made. Joining Techniques are described and the physical properties, standards and definitions of Steel Grades are reviewed. The course concludes with guidance on the specifications and selection of Steel Grades for a wide variety of applications.

NASS Essentials for Inside Sales                                
15th & 16th November 2016
NASS Office, Birmingham

The NASS “Essentials for Inside Sales” two day training programme will be delivered by Tuesday’s Training, who provide motivational training and coaching, particularly specialising selling the Steel Industry, personal development, leadership, team building, communication, diversity and motivation.

Please contact:
Joy Graham (joy.graham@nass.org.uk)
The National Association of Steel Service Centres
The Citadel,
190 Corporation Street
Birmingham
B4 6QD
Tel: 0121 200 22 88
Fax: 0121 236 7444
www.nass.org.uk

European distributors boost shipments in H1

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Shipments from steel service centres (SSC) and general steel distributors in Europe rose during the first six months of the year thanks to the boost registered in Q2, according to the data published by EUROMETAL, the European association for stockholders and distributors.

SSC saw their shipments recovering by 4% year-on-year during H1, thanks to the rise seen in Q2 when shipments increased 7% y-o-y. Multi-product distributors on the other hand saw their shipments increasing 3% y-o-y during the January-June period, with long products leading the recovery with a 7% y-o-y growth.

As reported, SSC shipments increased by 6% y-o-y in 2015, while multi-product distributors saw their shipments fall by 3% y-o-y last year.

While the recovery in shipments underlined a healthy demand in Europe, distributors remained cautious when managing their stocks; both SSC and multi-product distributors kept their stocks stable in June in terms of days of sales. In June SSC had 57 days’ worth of sales in stock, while distributors had 70 days.

— Emanuele Norsa