Steel Mills

NLMK USA Sales Up 18 Percent in Q2
Written by Sandy Williams
August 9, 2014
NLMK USA second quarter sales increased 18 percent quarter over quarter to 540,000 tonnes (595,238 net tons). Revenue increased 13 percent q/q to $499 million. NLMK Indiana ran at 81 percent capacity in the second quarter. Profitability declined due to narrower spreads between prices for slabs and rolled steel products.
NLMK Group sales totaled 3.83 million tons in Q2 with 6 percent increase in revenue to $2.8 billion. Net income was $158 million, down 9 percent q/q. EBITDA for the first half of 2014 jumped 27 percent q/q to $594 million.
Group steel output decreased by 3 percent q/q to 3.77 million tonnes (4.08 million net tons). NLMK Group steelmaking capacity was running at 94 percent. Rolled products accounted for 72 percent of total sale. Rolled product output for the Group increased by 26.8 percent on a quarterly basis.
NLMK expects steel production in Q4 to reach 4 million tonnes (4.4 million net tons) with Q3 financial results matching or slightly higher than second quarter.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills

Cliffs plans to idle three mills, cut 950 jobs on ‘insufficient demand and pricing’
Cleveland-Cliffs plans to indefinitely idle its steel mill in Riverdale, Ill., as well as mills in Conshohocken, Pa., and Steelton, Pa. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said all three facilities would be idled on or around June 30. Approximately 950 jobs will be impacted, the company said.

CRU: Usiminas may reduce capex unless government strengthens protection
“The lack of effective measures to create fair competition, amid a surge in subsidized imports, is the main threat to the sustainability of Brazil’s steel industry and its value chain,” CEO Marcelo Chara said.

USS swings to loss in first quarter on N. American flat-rolled segment woes
U.S. Steel CEO praised the company’s resilience, “despite the seasonally low results driven by annual mining logistics constraints in our North American Flat-Rolled segment and lagging spot prices.”

Nucor gives updates on new capacity coming online
Nucor said several of its capital projects will start operations within the next year and provided an update on them.

Algoma swings to loss on ‘market challenges’ and ‘tariff uncertainties’
Canada’s Algoma Steel swung to a loss in the first quarter amid "market challenges," and the company now expects first steel production from its first EAF in the second quarter.