Stahlwerk Bous up for sale
GMH (Georgsmaienhütte) Gruppe has decided to sell Stahlwerk Bous GmbH, as part of its strategic portfolio restructuring, the German group says.
With the steel industry undergoing rapid transformation, GMH Gruppe is actively reshaping its portfolio to reinforce its core business areas, it tells Kallanish. The group’s core area is the production of special bar qualities (SBQ), plus miscellaneous fabrication and industry services.
Stahlwerk Bous is the one steel mill in the state of Saarland that does not belong to Stahl-Holding Saar (SHS), parent of Dillinger and Saarstahl. It manufactures ingot blocks and continuous casting products in large dimensions. The company supplies pre-materials for tube and ring rolling mills as well as for open-die and closed-die forging, predominantly serving the energy, mechanical engineering, and railway sectors. Stahlwerk Bous employs approximately 300 people.
According to GMH, Stahlwerk Bous boasts high-performance production facilities, which include a state-of-the-art electric arc furnace, secondary metallurgy processes, and continuous and ingot casting.
GMH underlines that Stahlwerk Bous is recognised globally as a benchmark – particularly in the railway, mechanical engineering, oil and gas, and energy sectors. Unlike other companies within the GMH Gruppe, it has no on-site further processing or additional value creation. While such further processing would be strategically sound, it requires relatively costly investment.
A new owner, potentially one already engaged in downstream processing, will be better positioned to fully capitalise on the company’s potential and secure its future within a business model tailored to its strengths, GMH states. The goal is to transfer the company to a Best Owner – an investor capable of integrating Bous into a business model that maximises its strengths.
Christian Koehl Germany
Revista InfoAcero Febrero 2025
En el siguiente enlace pueden acceder a la edición de Febrero de nuestra revista INFOACERO
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Prices broadly unchanged across the Southern European steel longs market
Prices were broadly unchanged in the Southern European wire rod and rebar markets during the week to Wednesday February 26 amid high energy costs but weak demand, Fastmarkets heard.
Slow demand resulted in customers showing resistance to price rise, while mill margins remained under pressure from high input costs. Mills are expected to target higher offers in the coming week, sources said.
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Italy was €590-645 ($619-677) per tonne on Wednesday, widening downward by €10 per tonne from €600-645 per tonne one week prior.
Deals were reported at €590 per tonne exw.
Market indications were in the region of €590-645 per tonne exw in Northern Italy, with some higher offers reported at €630-655 per tonne exw. These higher offers were not considered workable by the market.
Increasing energy costs have pressured mill margins, sources said.
“[The Italian market] looks to be stable both from the point of view of demand, deals closed and offer levels,” one buyer source told Fastmarkets. “From my side, I estimate a price rollover…Rumors in continental Europe are from stable prices to increasing prices for March sales. We will see.”
“Rebar prices are slowly decreasing. We are today at €600 per tonne, but someone is offering large quantities at €10 per tonne lower. Mills intend to put up the price, but the market is not ready to accept these higher prices,” a second buyer source said.
Demand was reported to be relatively stable.
“Demand is not so bad. I think we will close February with the similar demand levels to January,” the second buyer source added.
Weak appetite because of seasonality could begin to lift with the approach of spring, but there was no short-term improvement in consumption from the construction sector, according to some sources.
Energy costs dramatically rose between January and February, with current price levels not seen since 2022, sources said.
Bearish sentiment regarding low consumption and high costs was echoed in the short-range outlook published by the International Rebar Producers and Exporters Association (IREPAS) on February 7.
The outlook highlighted challenges for the European steel market due to ongoing low demand and high costs in the region, combined with increasingly protectionist measures elsewhere.
“The EU steel market is suffering from continuing low demand for long products, with European mills locked in a cycle of poor demand and high costs. The construction market in most EU countries is still very slow due to seasonal reasons, but also in general due to much less demand from investors,” the outlook said.
Turkish scrap prices edged upward week on week amid steelmakers’ restocking for March.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of its daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was $355.54 per tonne on Wednesday, up from $351.58 per tonne a week earlier.
Despite Turkish mills still struggling with low finished steel sales in their domestic markets, they continued to restock scrap for March.
Meanwhile export rebar prices were reported from Southern Europe at €605-610 per tonne FOB.
A deal was reported by an Italian producer at €605 per tonne FOB.
Meanwhile, Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered, Spain was €630-640 per tonne on Wednesday, narrowing upward by €10 per tonne week on week from €620-640 per tonne.
Meanwhile, Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe was €585-600 per tonne on Wednesday, down by €20-25 per tonne week on week from €610-620 per tonne.
A deal was reported by an Italian producer at €600 per tonne.
Market participants in Spain pegged the market at lower levels of €585-600 per tonne.
Higher offers of €605-610 per tonne were reported in Italy after the assessment deadline with mills targeting price rises for March sales, Fastmarkets heard.
Wire rod import offers were reported at €630 per tonne from the Far East, but these offers were considered unworkable.
Market participants indicated the market at €595-605 per tonne.
European Commission to postpone sales of CBAM certificates to 2027
One result is that steel importers will no longer be obliged to purchase CBAM certificates quarterly in 2026, as was planned originally.
The amendments were presented as part of the Clean Industrial Deal proposed by the European Commission on Wednesday. This was intended to serve as a framework to tailor action in Europe’s energy-intensive industries, including steel and metals, and the clean tech sector, to support decarbonization initiatives.
The official version of CBAM amendments complied with the changes, which were leaked into the public space earlier this week.
But the delay to the beginning of CBAM certificate sales will not remove the financial burden related to CO2 emissions, it will only shift it to the next year, Fastmarkets understands.
“The changes may relieve some immediate pressure, but the financial risk exposure stays the same,” Louis Redshaw, chief executive officer of Redshaw Advisors, said. “Companies will still be [liable] for 2026 emissions but won’t need to fully account for them until 2027. This delay doesn’t remove the financial burden, it just shifts when it [will become effective].”
Another change was the introduction of a new annual de minimis threshold to exempt small importers from the CBAM requirements. This meant that only companies importing more than 50 tonnes (or 100 tonnes of embedded CO2) of net mass of goods, covered by the legislation, will have to comply.
But representatives of the steel and metals industries commented that this change would make little difference because their shipment volumes were usually well above the threshold.
European steel association Eurofer also said that, although the proposed Clean Industrial Deal and the amendments in the CBAM have managed to identify the right problems, they offered only partial solutions.
The association expected that more measures would be included in the Steel and Metals Action Plan, which was expected to be announced on March 4 during the Strategic Dialogue on Steel, organized by the European Commission.
French tube maker Vallourec forecasts higher H2 2025 shipments, EBITDA
France’s Vallourec expects international tube shipments to increase in the second half of 2025 compared to H1 2025 on strong bookings over recent months, it said in its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings call on Feb. 27.
The company forecasts EBITDA per metric ton to further improve in H2 2025 compared to H1 2025 on higher international prices and triggered by the US market price improvements and cost savings.
In the Mine and Forest unit, production sold is expected to be around 6 million mt of iron ore with the profitability determined by prevailing iron ore market prices.
“Our bookings in both the US and international markets ended 2024 on a high note, evidence of the strong global demand for premium tubular solutions,” CEO Philippe Guillemot said.
“We have seen a steady improvement in US pricing over the past several months, which will begin to manifest in our first quarter results … While we are still analyzing the full impact of recent changes in US trade policy, we believe on the whole they will support further upside in the US market,” Guillemot added.
Vallourec sold 362,000 mt of tubes in Q4, down 8.3% quarter over quarter and 5.5% year over year. Sales fell 16% year over year to 1.29 million mt of tubes for 2024, weighed by the closure of the Germany still mill and lower volumes sold in North America.
Tubes EBITDA fell from Eur1.05 billion ($1.36 billion) in 2023 to Eur777 million in 2024, due to lower profitability in North America despite higher market pricing in the rest of the world and the benefits of a restructuring plan.
In Q4, iron ore production was at 1.3 million mt, stable quarter over quarter but down 24% year over year. Full-year production dropped 22% year over year to 5.4 million mt, while Mine & Forest EBITDA fell to Eur108 million from Eur180 million on lower sales volumes and realized prices, and higher costs.
The bottom line was still better than the guidance set by Vallourec, benefiting from higher-than-expected iron ore prices and production sold in the final quarter.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the 62% Fe Iron Ore Index at $105.85/dmt CFR North China on Feb. 27, down $1/dmt from Feb. 26, in line with Newman High Grade Fines trade and tradable values.
According to Platts, iron ore prices in 2024 moved from $143.2/dmt CFR North China on Jan. 2 to $100/dmt CFR North China on Dec. 31.
Metinvest ready to rebuild Ukraine as it restores steel capacity
As peace talks intensify three years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Metinvest, the country’s largest steel producer, is ready to contribute to the nation’s reconstruction and welcomes partnerships while navigating a challenging international trade environment.
“If the war ends with good security arrangements for Ukraine, Metinvest would like to play a role in rebuilding,” Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said Feb. 27 in an interview.
To facilitate this effort, Metinvest has initiated its Steel Dream project, which aims to quickly rebuild infrastructure using steel for over 200 ready-made projects based on three prefabricated steel solutions: frame, module and platform.
The company also plans to invest in restoring its facilities to full operational capacity. Currently, Metinvest operates two mills in Ukraine: Zaporizhstal (flat steel) and Kamet Steel (long steel). Zaporizhstal is running at about 75% capacity, while Kamet Steel is operating at 65%-70%.
Ryzhenkov said the company aims to restore full capacity for the blast furnaces — one at Zaporizhstal and one at Kamet Steel — within two years, a timeline critical for meeting market demands and supporting post-conflict rebuilding efforts.
Expecting a rebound
For 2025, Metinvest expects a slight decline in steel production due to scheduled maintenance, but Ryzhenkov is optimistic that production levels will rebound to 2024 figures, when crude steel production increased by 4% year over year to 2.09 million mt.
Iron ore production surged by 42% to 15.7 million mt, with the company planning to enhance product quality and increase output.
“At the iron ore facilities, we will invest to enhance mainly the quality of the products that we will be able to offer, specifically our ferrum content in our products,” Ryzhenkov said.
“But also, we will be able to increase the quantities that we produce at our iron ore facilities. In the steelmaking facilities, there are strategic investments that can be made for improving the product range.”
He underlined that these are medium-term projects while for the long term — as Ukraine still has the same obligations to decarbonize the steel industry as the rest of Europe – Metinvest had plans for decarbonizing its facilities, such as the construction of a direct iron reduction plant considered in the past while pursuing brownfield investments to upgrade its steelmaking and iron ore facilities.
Investments
Metinvest confirmed it was still interested in the Huta Czestochowa mill in Poland. However, the Polish government’s classification of the mill as a strategic enterprise has delayed the auction process.
However, Metinvest has made significant progress in Italy, signing a shareholder agreement with Italian steel producer Danieli. This collaboration aims to develop a 2.7 million mt/year flat steel producer, enhancing Metinvest’s production capabilities and product offerings.
The next steps involve finalizing the engineering plans and financing structure to pave the way for construction activities.
Impact of US policies
Metinvest, one of Ukraine’s largest taxpayers, emphasizes the importance of maintaining trade relations with the US.
Ryzhenkov said he supports the Ukrainian Steel Association’s call for exemptions from the anticipated 25% import tariffs proposed by US President Donald Trump.
Ryzhenkov explained that Ukrainian steel constitutes less than 0.5% of US imports and he warns that tariffs could harm both the Ukrainian economy and US interests. By allowing Ukrainian steel to continue to be in the US market, the US would be supporting a key ally while also reducing the need for foreign aid to Ukraine.
Polish industry laments EU deal generality, non-urgency
Polish steel industry representatives have reacted with disappointment to the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal announced this week, due to its lack of concrete measures and short-term energy cost relief.
The long-awaited industrial deal was announced by the European Commission on Wednesday.
Polish Steel Association (HIPH) chief executive Mirosław Motyka says the lack in the industrial deal of a so-called “bridge electricity price” measure for energy-intensive firms is a big disappointment, as is the lack of measures to reduce fees and taxes linked to energy prices.
While the Affordable Energy Action Plan allows member states to lower taxation levels on electricity and eliminate some levies, it poses other challenges. “We see new threats, such as flexibility criteria that energy-intensive industry are unable to meet, as well as already known solutions, such as PPA contracts, which only have limited potential to reduce energy prices for our plants in the medium term,” Motyka tells Wirtualny Nowy Przemysl.
The European Commission is also avoiding indicating the causes of increased energy prices and is not taking any action to reduce them, he adds.
A year has passed since the Antwerp Declaration and yet the Commission “has only presented very general propositions for changes”, Motyka notes. In that time, the global economy has changed and a new US administration is in place, which is redefining the rules of global business. “The EU industry needs real, specific and fast action,” he asserts.
Henryk Orczykowski, ceo of Polish distributor Stalprofil, says the industrial deal lacks fundamental reform of the ETS emissions trading system.
“The current regulations allowing financial institutions and banks to trade emission rights allow for speculation in these securities. This alters the original function of emission rights, which is to encourage emitters to reduce emissions,” he notes.
This also causes the prices of emissions to become inflated. “This has a direct impact on the costs of emissions incurred by the industry and significantly increases the operating costs of the industry in the European Union,” he adds.
Market participants remain hopeful more concrete measures to support the steel industry will be announced in the Commission’s Steel and Metals Action Plan, due for release in the spring. This will be preceded by the Strategic Dialogue On Steel on 4 March, chaired by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Adam Smith Poland
Grey skies over Germany have silver lining
Despite the continued weakness of the overall European steel industry, Germany can point to some feats that are largely overlooked, says consultant Andreas Schneider. He finds steel industry representatives have been painting a gloomier picture than necessary.
In a five-year comparison, with the pre-Covid year of 2019, German steel production has declined by 8.5%. But some major customer industries – automotive, mechanical engineering, and structural construction – have dropped by two-digit percentages, Schneider notes. General construction is the one sector that hardy declined at all during that period.
In terms of apparent consumption – a measure used by worldsteel – Germany fared better last year than was assessed by the association. In October, worldsteel forecast a year-on-year drop by 7% in apparent demand for the year, but Schneider claims that things ultimately ended on a better note, meaning the drop might not have been more than 1%. He attributes his assumption to stabilising inventories and imports declining by more than expected.
For external trade in general, “the figures hold some truly surprising findings and shed a good light on German performance,” Schneider tells Kallanish. Although the December figures are not yet available, it is obvious that the result for 2024 will be the best since at least 2008, he points out.
In 2023 as well as in 2024, the German steel industry achieved a trade surplus, with a growing trend. While 2017 and 2018 saw deficits of 4 million tonnes, respectively, 2023 ended with a trade surplus of 1mt, and 2024 with more than 2mt.
Steelmakers are benefitting from duties on steel imports, which is a protection most steel-using industries do not enjoy for their products, Schneider points out. Apart from that, it is an advantage for German mills that 80% of their exports stay within the EU.
Christian Koehl Germany
EC unveils Clean Industrial Deal, EUROFER not satisfied
The European Commission has unveiled a policy package called the Clean Industrial Deal. The plan outlines concrete actions to turn decarbonization into a driver of growth for European industries, including lowering energy prices and creating quality jobs and the right conditions for companies to thrive.
The deal presents measures to boost every stage of production, with a focus on the clean-tech sector as well as energy-intensive industries such as steel, that urgently need support to decarbonize, switch to clean energy, and tackle high costs, unfair global competition and complex regulations.
The main elements of the Clean Industrial Deal are lowering energy costs; boosting demand for clean products; financing the clean transition with over €100 billion to support EU-made clean manufacturing; circularity and access to raw materials; acting on a global scale; skills and quality jobs. The EC will create a Critical Raw Material Centre to jointly purchase raw materials, while it will adopt a Circular Economy Act in 2026 with the aim to have 24 percent of materials circular by 2030.
Commenting on the Clean Industrial Deal, the European Steel Association (EUROFER) stated that, although the deal acknowledges the strategic role of the European steel industry and the challenges it faces, concrete solutions are either left open for later decisions, such as those on global steel overcapacity and loopholes in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or addressed with incomplete measures. The association stated that, without structural solutions to these issues, initiatives on the circular economy risk being insufficient.
