Severstal produced 4 million mt of crude steel in the July-September quarter, unchanged from Q2, the Russian miner and steelmaker said Thursday. Of the total, 2.8 million mt (70%) was made in Russia with the remaining 1.2 million mt produced in the US, Severstal said in its quarterly results statement.
For Q3, Severstal sold 3.74 million mt of steel products, down 4% quarter on quarter on the back of a 6% decline in shipments at its Russian steel division. The latter sold 2.58 million mt, down from 2.75 million in Q2. The company's US mills sold 1.2 million mt in Q3, up 2% quarter on quarter. Of the divisions' 3.78 million mt combined sales, 40,000 mt were transferred within the group.
The share of high value-added products, comprising of cold rolled and coated coils, steel pipes, sections and wire products, reached 46%, up from 45% in Q2.
In the first nine months of 2013, Severstal's steel output grew 3% year on year to 11.9 million mt, with 8.2 million mt (70%) of this made in Russia; the company's Russian steel unit increased production by 2% while its North American division achieved a 5% rise to 3.7 million mt.
The company's steel sales over that time frame saw no change, however; in January-September they totaled 11.3 million mt, excluding intragroup sales, and the company's Russian and North American divisions sold the same amount of steel products they did in the same period last year -- 8 million and 3.5 million mt, respectively, with roughly 200,000 mt of their combined total being distributed within the group.
In July-September, Severstal's Russia-made hot rolled coil and plate prices slipped 4% quarter on quarter to $536/mt ex-works, excluding VAT. The average price of Severstal's US-made steel products, on the contrary, strengthened by 2% from Q2 to $800/mt. In January-September, Severstal's Russian HRC and plate prices weakened by 11% year on year to $555/mt, while its North American steel prices dipped by 6% to $798/mt.
