The Russian steelmaker Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) has released its operational results for the first quarter of the current year.
Accordingly, in the first quarter, the company recorded a 4.4 percent increase quarter on quarter in its crude steel output to 3.02 million mt, due to an increase in electric arc furnace capacity utilization to 59 percent, and a 4.5 percent increase in its finished steel product output to 2.79 million mt, both compared to the previous quarter. The rise in finished steel output was mainly due to an increase in thick plate shipments from Mill 5000 and the beginning of a seasonal recovery in demand for steel in the domestic market in the February-March period this year.
In addition, in the given quarter, MMK's production of high value-added products amounted to 1.25 million mt, rising 2.9 percent compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the company's iron ore consumption in the first quarter decreased by 10.1 percent quarter on quarter to 745,000 mt.