ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih increased steel production by 17% y/y in February

In February, the company's production activities were again negatively affected by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.

PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, a subsidiary of the global steelmaker ArcelorMittal, increased steel production by 17% in February 2024 compared to February 2023, to 77 thousand tons. The company’s press service told GMK Center.

Rolled steel production increased by 16% y/y – to 73 kt, pig iron – by 33% y/y, to 116 kt, iron ore concentrate – by 35% y/y, to 527 kt, and blast furnace coke – by 57% y/y, to 77 kt. The reason for this growth was the difficult situation with energy supply in February 2023 due to the aggressor’s damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the company said.

«The company demonstrates a steady increase in production of all types of products. However, the results of the previous month were partly affected by the shelling of Kryvyi Rih’s energy infrastructure by the aggressor country. The plant will continue its efforts to improve the performance of both mining and metallurgical production,» ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih summarizes.

At the same time, in February 2024, the company’s production activities were again negatively affected by Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure of the Kryvyi Rih region. As a result, steel and rolled products production increased by 1% month-on-month, and concentrate production by 4%. At the same time, pig iron output fell by 22% m/m and coke output – by 9% m/m.

«The plant is showing positive dynamics, but the production potential of one blast furnace is almost exhausted. According to the management, the plant may launch another blast furnace in April. The products will be mostly exported. Therefore, the main factor here will be the stability of the sea corridor and the attractiveness of prices in export markets, which are currently experiencing a significant decline,» comments Andriy Tarasenko, Chief Analyst at GMK Center.

In 2024, ArcelorMittal plans to increase capacity utilization from 25% to 50%. In particular, it plans to maximize the utilization of the mining division, and to launch two blast furnaces in the steel division in the second quarter of this year, in April.

Last year was a challenging one for ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, which produced 1 million tons of steel, 1.5 million tons of pig iron and 0.9 million tons of commercial rolled products. However, the most important thing is that the company continues to operate, contributing to the Ukrainian economy during the war, and maintains its production facilities in order to increase production as soon as possible if the situation improves.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is a full-cycle steelmaking enterprise in Ukraine. Its production facilities are designed to produce over 6 million tons of steel, 5 million tons of rolled products and 5.5 million tons of pig iron annually. The company employs over 20 thousand people.