Ukrainian mining and steel producing group Metinvest has announced its financial results for the first half of the current year.
Accordingly, in the first half Metinvest registered a net loss of $240 million compared to a net profit of $408 million in the same period previous year. This was largely due to lower revenues, higher finance costs, a lower contribution from associates and joint ventures, a lower finance income and higher impairment of financial assets, the company stated. Metinvest’s consolidated revenues in the given period of the current year declined by 15 percent year on year to $4.968 billion, mostly hit by Covid-19 related issues and, in particular, by a drop in steel prices in line with global benchmarks. Concurrently, the company’s resale volumes fell in the given period. The iron ore sales and geography were affected by weak demand in Europe and reduced pellet premiums. At the same time, Metinvest boosted its revenues from merchant iron ore concentrate, coking coal concentrate and pig iron sales.
The company's EBITDA in the first six months this year amounted to $715 million, falling by twenty percent compared to the same period of the previous year, SteelOrbis has learned.
In the meantime, Metinvest’s total debt remained almost unchanged year on year at $3.010 billion in the first half of the current year.
“As planned, we reduced our CAPEX by 35 percent year on year to $$313 million during the reporting period. Despite external challenges, we were able to achieve our objectives and complete several strategic projects during this period. As such, Metinvest completed an upgrade of the beneficiation facilities at Central GOK to produce a premium class concentrate with 70.5 percent Fe, which allowed us to create the fabrication line for the production of a high-grade pellet for DRI technology”, Yuriy Ryzhenkov, chief executive officer of Metinvest stated, commenting on the results. Additionally, in the given period the company proceeded with the upgrade of the hot strip mill 1700 at Ilyich Steel, with a new down-coiler being expected to be installed in the fourth quarter of the current year 2020, with the construction of the air separation unit at Ilyich Steel, crusher and conveyor systems at Northern GOK and Ingulets GOK and, in particular, with the upgrade of the OK-306 roasting machine at Northern GOK.