Evraz steel sales grow on the back of increased demand

Steel producer Evraz reported flat consolidated crude steel output in the second quarter of its trading year, while sales rose on the back of increased demand for the metal.

Evraz saw total steel product sales rise 7.7% quarter-on-quarter to 3.37 megatons, driven by higher demand, while sales of finished products climbed 10.1% to 1.98 megatonnes as a result of higher sales of construction products in Russia and railway products across North America.

Raw coking coal production grew 2.2% on the previous quarter to 6.99 megatons, while raw coking coal concentrate output climbed 21% to 4.45 megatons, mainly due to greater processing volumes and lower ash content.

External sales volumes of coking coal products surged 10.3% on the back of increased coking coal concentrate sales after the longwall repositioning at Yuzhkuzbassugol's Alardinskaya mine and greater shipments to Russia's Far East. However, Evraz noted that this was partly offset by lower raw coking coal sales amid weaker demand across Eastern European markets.

Elsewhere, external sales of iron ore products tumbled 49.4% to 295 kilotons as volumes were redistributed towards exports amid reduced demand on the domestic market.

Looking forward, Evraz expects raw coal production to decline in the third quarter due to the longwall move at the Uskovskaya mine. Output will also be impacted by reduced production at Razrez Raspadsky due to the transfer of its equipment to the open-pit mining operations at Raspadskaya-Koksovaya.

As of 0835 BST, Evraz shares had picked up 2.47% to 681.40p.