Day: 23 March 2020

Luxembourg-based producer ArcelorMittal is the only firm that is allowed to continue producing steel at its Taranto site in Italy after the government tightened measures on non-essential industrial activity over the weekend in its continuing fight against the spread of the coronavirus.

Taranto produces using a blast furnace, and as such it falls under the clause of the new decree, exempting businesses in a continuous production cycle. If the furnace were to stop, it would result in significant financial damage to the company.

But Arcelor’s other steel-producing assets in Italy, as well as all other mills, service centres and producers, are required to temporarily shut down until 3 April.

According to the decree, appointed regional authorities are to decide if the continuous operation of a business is essential or not, and whether it is ‘strategic’ for it to continue working. Any producer in the aviation or weapons production chain is exempt from the restrictions.

Other steelmakers are understood to be trying to prove to the respective regional authorities that their operations must continue. In addition, purchasing of scrap from abroad is understood to be continuing, likely as a result of an anticipated shortage in the country owing to reduced scrap flows, as the country is under lockdown.

ArcelorMittal and the Italian government agreed at the beginning of March that the government would take a stake in Ilva. The company last week confirmed to Argus that it had decided to slow output across Europe and in Italy, halving the workforce in Taranto to 3,800 workers in a bid to stop the spread of the virus.

By Lora Stoyanova

Italian steelmaker Arvedi’s production sites remain in operation following the government’s introduction of tighter coronavirus-control measures yesterday.

All non-essential industries have been ordered to temporarily stop operations in a bid to contain the spread of the virus in the country, which has the highest death toll from the pandemic.

“Production activities continue in full compliance with the decree and with all the safety measures already put in place by the [Arvedi] Group for several weeks to protect all its workers,” the company said.

Fellow producer ArcelorMittal’s Taranto site is exempt from the new measures as it is blast furnace-based. Other steel producers were today said to be providing evidence to regional authorities that they also need to continue production.

By Lora Stoyanova

The Italian market has come to a complete standstill after the government announced over the weekend that all non-essential industries are to temporarily shut their operations until 3 April.

The Argus Italian index is unchanged at €440/t ex-works, while the northwest European index is also static at €474.50/t.

Market participants were still seeking clarification as to whether their businesses needed to be closed as well, as some producers are heard to be continuing. So far only ArcelorMittal Taranto is understood to have permission to carry on work — albeit as previously announced at reduced rates — while some EAF-based mills are building up cases as to why they should continue production. Workers’ unions are still pushing for the complete shutdown of production across the country, and some have said that they plan to strike on 25 March.

“All the customers are closed and cannot produce so where would they deliver?” a market participant said. “I suppose they must reduce drastically the output, due to the closures of most clients,” another one added. “There is no market anymore,” a third said.

But last week, Italian producers were still getting orders from northern Europe, which is a few days behind Italy in terms of the progression of the virus.

At the same time, CIS hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices are spiralling down, with the Argus daily CIS assessment down by $32.50/t in the past week to reach $430/t fob Black Sea today. The downtrend is likely to extend into Turkish coil pricing. Today some traders were short-selling Turkish and CIS HRC into North Africa, but some buyers in Turkey expect mills to revise prices down further in the coming days.

More European steel mills announced Friday they are ramping down production as a direct consequence of decreased demand and further restrictions on public life in Europe, with ArcelorMittal Bremen idling a blast furnace.

ArcelorMittal Germany gave more detail Friday on its decreased output in Germany and said that it had idled one of its two blast furnaces at the flat steel plant in Bremen. The now idled BF had just been restarted in the beginning of January. The annual capacity of the plant is 3.6 million mt of crude steel. The steelmaker also slowed down production at its coking plant Bottrop and reduced working hours at its Eisenhuettenstadt flat steel operations.

While the Italian long steel producer Riva has been shut and Feralpi ceased production at one of its longs mills in Italy, the German subsidiaries of both companies are still producing.

Riva France was also producing, but a distributor said that deliveries from France were a problem.

Tata Steel Europe said it had made “production adjustments” at some of its European mills in the Netherlands and the UK, highlighting that the decrease at its major mills in IJMuiden, Netherlands, and Port Talbot, UK, have not been significant yet.

“While demand is steady in some sectors, production pauses in the European automotive sector are expected to have a knock-on impact on steel supply,” Tata Steel said.

GFG Alliance, which owns Liberty Steel mills across Europe, continues to adjust its steel and aluminum production to demand on a “plant-by-plant basis.”

Czech heavy plate and sections producer Vitkovice Steel confirmed to Platts the mill is operating at its normal levels with weekly output comprised of 10,000 mt of plate and 3,000 mt of sheet piling. Shipments to customers are taking slightly longer though due to a larger- than-normal accumulation of vehicles at border crossings and shipments to Italy being affected the worst. The Czech mill still receives orders from Italy, the company said.

The port of Antwerp – northern Europe’s import hub – said it would be “100%” operational. “At the moment Port of Antwerp has not seen any decline in the freight volume. However, it is expected that fewer ships will call at the port in the coming days and weeks because of the corona outbreak.”

Fifteen fewer large container carriers from Asia will call, corresponding to 115,000 mt of freight not being carried from and to China,” the port said.

— Laura Varriale, Ekaterina Bouckley, Viral Shah

Der Vorstand berichtet über den Jahres- und Konzernabschluss des Geschäftsjahres 2019 wie folgt: 

Die sehr gute Entwicklung des NORDWEST Konzerns hat sich auch in 2019 fortgesetzt. Mit einem Geschäftsvolumen von 3.327,8 Mio. EUR wird der Wert aus dem Vorjahr noch einmal deutlich um 9,4% übertroffen und auch das Lagergeschäft erzielt mit 173,4 Mio. EUR einen neuen Höchstwert und übertrifft die bisherige Bestmarke aus dem Jahr 2018 um +6,1%. Das operative Ergebnis (EBIT) entwickelt sich analog zum Geschäftsvolumen, sodass das Vorjahr (10,6 Mio. EUR) mit nun mehr 11,5 Mio. EUR übertroffen wird. Darüber hinaus ist auch die Anzahl der angeschlossenen Fachhandelspartner im abgelaufenen Jahr um 39 auf 1.091 angestiegen. Damit ist das 100. Geschäftsjahr eines der erfolgreichsten und eindrucksvollsten Geschäftsjahre in der Firmengeschichte. 

Im Geschäftsjahr 2019 können alle Geschäftsbereiche ihr Geschäftsvolumen im Vergleich zum Vorjahr steigern und dabei die bisherigen Rekordwerte aus dem Vorjahr übertreffen. So erzielt der Kerngeschäftsbereich Bau-Handwerk-Industrie in 2019 ein Geschäftsvolumen von 1.161,1 Mio. EUR und übertrifft damit das Vorjahr um weitere +3,9%. Auch der Geschäftsbereich Stahl setzt sein Wachstum weiter fort. Grundlage für die deutliche Ausweitung des Geschäftsvolumens auf 1.226,3 Mio. EUR und damit einem Anstieg um nahezu +3% gegenüber dem Vorjahr bildet dabei die deutliche Ausweitung der abgesetzten Tonnage. Und auch der Geschäftsbereich TeamFaktor/Services übertrifft mit einem Geschäftsvolumen von 725,5 Mio. EUR (+32,6%) den im Vorjahr erreichten Wert noch einmal deutlich. Sehr positiv ist die Entwicklung im Geschäftsbereich Haustechnik mit einem Anstieg des Geschäftsvolumens um +17,4% auf 214,9 Mio. EUR. Diese Entwicklung basiert auf der strategischen Neuausrichtung des Bereiches und der damit verbundenen Akquirierung neuer Fachhandelspartner. 

Im abgelaufenen Geschäftsjahr 2019 erzielt der NORDWEST Konzern ein operatives Ergebnis vor Zinsen und Steuern (EBIT) von 11,5 Mio. EUR (VJ 10,6 Mio. EUR; +8,1% ggü. VJ) bei einem Ergebnis nach Ertragsteuern von 7,7 Mio. EUR (VJ 6,9 Mio. EUR; +10,9% ggü. VJ). Aus diesem Grund befürwortet die Verwaltung für 2019 eine Erhöhung der Ausschüttung an die Aktionäre und schlägt der Hauptversammlung die Ausschüttung einer Dividende in Höhe von 0,80 EUR je Aktie, nach 0,70 EUR je Aktie im Vorjahr, vor. 

Die Hauptversammlung, welche ursprünglich am 14. Mai 2020 in Dortmund stattfinden sollte, wird aufgrund des Verbots von Großveranstaltungen wegen der Coronapandemie in diesem Jahr verschoben. Der neue Termin wird zeitnah festgelegt und bekannt gegeben. Laut gesetzlicher Vorschrift muss ein Aktionärstreffen spätestens zum Ende des achten Monats des Geschäftsjahres erfolgen. Im Falle von NORDWEST ist das Ende August 2020. 

Der AG- und der Konzernabschluss sind in der am heutigen Tag stattgefundenen Sitzung durch den Aufsichtsrat der Gesellschaft geprüft, und der AG-Abschluss ist gemeinsam mit dem Vorstand festgestellt worden. 

Ausblick 

Nach dem sehr erfolgreichen Geschäftsjahr 2019 ist NORDWEST auch in den ersten beiden Monaten erfolgreich in das Geschäftsjahr 2020 gestartet. Für den weiteren Jahresverlauf stimmen unter anderen die gute Resonanz zum FachWerk-Konzept, die neu gegründete Haustechnik-Genossenschaft Hategro, der erfolgreiche Ausbau des Konzeptes Fachhandelspartner 4.0+ sowie die Erweiterung des Exklusivmarkensortimentes optimistisch. NORDWEST erwartet in 2020 auf Konzernebene beim Geschäftsvolumen eine Entwicklung von +0% bis +10% ggü. VJ. Das operative Ergebnis (EBIT) sehen wir bei rund 12,1 Mio. EUR mit einer Bandbreite von +/ – 0,6 Mio. EUR. 

Losgelöst sind diese Prognosen derzeit von den Entwicklungen rund um die Coronapandemie. Sollte sich die gesellschaftliche oder gesamtwirtschaftliche Situation durch die weitere Ausbreitung des Coronavirus verschlechtern oder dauerhaft angespannt bleiben, hätte dies deutliche Auswirkungen auf die prognostizierte Entwicklung des Geschäftsvolumens und des Ergebnisses. In welcher Höhe die Einschränkungen auf Seiten der Fachhandelspartner aber auch Lieferengpässe auf Seiten der Industrie oder flächendeckender Personalausfall zu Geschäftsvolumens- und Ertragseinbußen führen, ist derzeit nicht genau zu beziffern. 

Quelle und Vorschaufoto: NORDWEST Handel AG

Thyssenkrupp steel Europe is currently testing a new blast furnace technology designed to enhance process efficiency.

The “Sequence Impulse Process (SIP)” system has now been installed at blast furnace Schwelgern 1 in Duisburg and will serve as a reference plant for marketing, tk Steel notes. Research was carried out by thyssenkrupp AT.PRO tec GmbH, a joint venture with tk Materials Trading GmbH.

“Process development work was focused on the ‘deep action’ of the oxygen,” explains Rainer Klock, manager of furnace metallurgy at the plant. “The aim is to improve gas and liquid flows in the blast furnace and thus improve efficiency. We based this on our knowledge and the targeted use of various gas-dynamic phenomena in the oxygen injection process.”

Technically, this is realised by fitting each of the 40 tuyeres on blast furnace 1 with an additional lance for oxygen injection, Kallanish understands. The 40 lances each have their own injection unit or “SIP box”.

“Improving the efficiency of the blast furnace process optimises the consumption of coke and pulverised coal as reducing agents,” adds Jörg Glebe, managing director of thyssenkrupp AT.PRO tec. “This lowers CO2 emissions and reduces costs. Replacing 5kg of coke with pulverised coal per tonne of pig iron in blast furnace Schwelgern 1 would already result in potential annual cost savings in the millions.”

The unit is holding talks with major plant engineering companies with the aim of launching the process worldwide and supporting installation in blast furnaces.

Martina Merz, who has been acting ceo at thyssenkrupp AG, will stay in that position for an extended period, Kallanish learns from the group.

Merz transferred to the position from the supervisory board of the conglomerate last year, following the ousting of Guido Kerkhoff, who had succeeded Heinrich Hiesinger only a year earlier. The latest decision, communicated in an ad-hoc announcement late Friday, comes as a move in the interest of a necessary stability at the troubled conglomerate. The new ceo will be in the role for a three-year term starting 1 April 2020.

Merz will resign from the supervisory board following the appointment. Furthermore, Johannes Dietsch is stepping down from the executive board effective March 31. His successor as chief financial officer will be Klaus Keysberg who will remain responsible for the steel/materials businesses in addition to his new role.

Brazilian steel market demand has remained at a low level since the beginning of the year and doubt remains whether customers will not accept the price adjustments for domestic end-users and distributors. So says the president of the national flat steel distributors’ association (Inda), Carlos Loureiro, in a statement to media monitored by Kallanish.

“Despite the gap between domestic and imported steel prices, the Brazilian steelmakers should not implement the planned increase of steel prices due to the lack of demand,” Loureiro says.

The steel sector in Brazil will begin to see the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak as from the beginning of April, the president adds

“The fall in steel demand should worsen as a result of the expected production stoppages of large mills. These will have serious and unprecedented consequences for the automotive and white goods’ sectors in the coming months,” Loureiro continues. The scale of production adjustments and the contraction in the market cannot yet be assessed, as the Covid-19 outbreak in Brazil is expected to spread in April, he adds.

Most of the steelmakers in Brazil, such as CSN, Usiminas and Gerdau, have already implemented preventive security measures at their plants and are working normally.

German steel-using companies active in the automotive supply chain are raising awareness that the current shutdown of carmakers threatens the existence of the German supply industry. Last week, VW, Daimler and BMW announced halts in production of at least two weeks in Germany and other countries (see Kallanish 19 March).

The expected production interruption of several weeks will lead to liquidity bottlenecks for a large number of supplier companies to the automotive sector. So says a joint statement issued on behalf of their federation WSM and the associated interest group for automotive suppliers, ArGeZ.

Loan programmes currently approved by the government through the German development bank KfW are not yet sufficient to cover the looming damage, says Christian Vietmeyer, managing director of the two bodies.

The many supplier companies must not be left out in the cold by a sudden interruption of the supply chains, the associations warn in the statement. “In concrete terms, this means that we expect the buyers in the value chain to accept goods until at least 27 March. Only then will a coordinated and joint restart of production be possible,” Vietmeyer continues.

ArGeZ assumes that delays in delivery could lead to a production ramp-up again by the beginning of May, as components that are still in China are unlikely to arrive in European ports before then. “We therefore expect a necessary interruption in production until 20 April 2020. We expect clear communication from the car manufacturers regarding the production halt and further planning,” Vietmeyer adds.