Russian mining and steel group Mechel has announced its consolidated financial results for the first half of the current year. In the first half, Mechel saw a net profit of RUB 4.99 billion ($84.45 million) compared to a net profit of RUB 8.3 billion in the first half of 2016. In the first half this year, Mechel's sales revenues increased by 15 percent year on year to RUB 149.38 billion ($2.53 billion). In the same period, the company's operating income increased by 78 percent to RUB 30.67 billion ($518.76 million) compared to the same period of the previous year.
The revenue of Mechel's mining segment from external customers in the first half of the current year totaled RUB 51.52 billion ($871.21 million), up 29 percent, while its steel segment's revenue from external customers in the same period amounted to RUB 84.95 billion ($1.44 billion), up nine percent, both compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
Mechel’s CEO Oleg Korzhov stated that the company’s first half results demonstrated a substantial improvement year on year due to positive dynamics in the coking coal market, significant diversification of products from its steel facilities and an increase in the share of high value-added products such as rails, beams and special steel, while he added that the net profit figure was largely driven by the currency denominated debt revaluation depending on currency exchange rate fluctuations.