Mechel Service increases shipments in first quarter

Mechel’s trading arm Mechel-Service posted a 3% on-year increase in shipments in the first quarter to 350,000 tonnes, the company says.

Stainless steel sheet sales reported the fastest growth of 147%, Kallanish notes. Beam sales grew by 65%, strip by 58%, rebar by 26% and wire rod by 21%.

“In the first quarter, we maintained our share in the market of rolled metal products for construction purposes, despite a decrease in metal consumption in the country,” says commercial director Stanislav Karpov. “We are increasing sales growth of stainless steel sheets due to increased production at the Chelyabinsk metallurgical plant. Shipments of other types of metal products are growing due to access to new consumers, including those working on large infrastructure projects in Russia.”

This year, Mechel-Service will continue its policy of increasing the sales share of high-margin products: beams, stainless steel sheet, rolled sections and hardware.

Russian miner and steelmaker Mechel saw 2019 consolidated revenue fall -5% on-year to RUB 296.6 billion ($3.7 billion), on the back of lower output volumes due to upgrades, and lower mining volumes and price volatility (see Kallanish passim).

Mechel focussed on upgrades of its flagship CherMK steelworks’ blast furnace and converter in 2019, which resulted in lower steel output. The company is on course to continue expanding its product range in its steel arm, and plans a series of upgrades and repairs in 2020. This includes further upgrades at CherMK, including starting production of heat-treated rebar of different diameters through the launch of rolling mill No.1.