The Russian steelmaker MMK Group has released its operational results for the second quarter and the first half of the current year.
Accordingly, in the second quarter, the company recorded a 3.8 percent rise in its crude steel output to 3.18 million mt and a four percent increase in its finished steel product output to 2.78 million mt, both compared to the previous quarter. In the second quarter, MMK’s finished steel shipments increased by 5.9 percent from the first quarter to 2.88 million mt. This increase was mainly due to the completion of maintenance at rolling facilities and the seasonal recovery of business activity on the domestic market.
Meanwhile, in the first six months, MMK's crude steel production amounted to 6.25 million mt, up 0.6 percent, while the company’s finished steel products output increased by 3.4 percent to 5.45 million mt, both year on year. In the first half of this year, MMK’s finished steel shipments amounted to 5.6 million mt, down 3.2 percent compared to the same period of 2016.
MMK said that as of the end of the second quarter of this year, it saw the beginning of seasonal recovery in demand for construction products. As a result, this growth should be in part reflected in the third quarter and will support sales of its products.
In addition the company has also stated that it has started production at its new continuous hot dip galvanizing unit No. 3, constructed with an investment of around RUB 6 billion ($101.5 million). The unit will increase MMK’s capacity for the production of galvanized steel by almost 20 percent, to more than 2 million mt per year.