Russian mining and steelmaking company Evraz Group has announced its production results for the first quarter this year, stating that its crude steel production increased by 8.7 percent to 3.67 million mt compared to the fourth quarter last year, mainly due to higher production at EVRAZ North America and its Russian steel mills. In the first quarter of the current year, the company's pig iron production rose by 1.2 percent to 2.89 million mt and coke production declined by 28.8 percent to 118,000 mt, both quarter on quarter.
In the first quarter this year, the company’s finished steel production went up by 7.5 percent quarter on quarter to 1.8 million mt. In particular, Evraz produced 416,000 mt of railway products, 166,000 mt of tubular products and 186,000 mt of flat steel products, which respectively increased by 5.1 percent, 71.7 percent and 14.6 percent compared to the previous quarter. The company’s flat steel production includes 51,000 mt of flat steel produced by its Italian subsidiary Evraz Palini e Bertoli, which resumed operations in 2016 after suspending them in August 2013. Meanwhile, in the same period, Evraz Group’s construction products output remained stable quarter on quarter at 875,000 mt, reflecting market conditions and the slow construction season in Russia.
According to the company's statement, in the given quarter production of iron ore products (sinter and pellets) in Russia remained stable at 4.98 million mt compared to the previous quarter. In the second quarter this year, sinter output is expected to decrease by around 10 percent due to repairs at EVRAZ ZSMK’s sintering plant in June.