Eurobench.com

voda 7 november 2014 15:42

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Port Hedland tugboat strike threat to affect iron ore industry

SMH reported that Australia's busiest mineral export port could be brought to a halt as early as next week, amid renewed threats of a tugboat strike at Port Hedland.

More than six months after the threat of a tugboat strike first emerged, the union representing the engineers on the tugs the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers has informed tugboat operator Teekay Shipping of its intention to hold a strike on November 12th 2014.

The strike is expected to last four hours and be staged and is expected to temporarily prevent Port Hedland tenants like BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group, BC Iron and Atlas Iron from exporting iron ore.

Each tugboat is staffed by one engineer, one master and one deckhand and it is understood the tugs cannot sail without a full complement of staff.

Without tugboats, the giant cape-sized vessels that carry Australian iron ore to Asia cannot leave or enter the port, halting an export industry that ranks as Australia's most lucrative.

The miners warned earlier this year that an extended shut-down at the port could force some of the mine and rail operations in the Pilbara to also slow down to avoid a huge bottleneck at the port but it is unlikely that a four-hour strike at the port would warrant such drastic action.

Source – SMH

voda 7 november 2014 15:44

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Chinese traders tip iron ore to hit USD 70 per tonne

SMH reported that Chinese traders are tipping iron ore will continue its dramatic crash to hit USD 70 per tonne by the end of the year, as the spot price hit a fresh five year low overnight.

But the private traders say local governments are keeping high cost Chinese production alive, and less of it will fall out of the market than during the last great price correction, in 2012.

A trip by Morgan Stanley analysts to visit trading groups in China has thrown up some new intelligence on the near-term outlook for iron ore, with traders asserting that no iron ore traders are making money.

Morgan Stanley said this week that private iron ore traders in China expect oversupply will drive spot iron ore down further, to USD 70 per tonne by the end of the year, and there is little upside to demand out of China. Iron ore financing in China also poses a big price risk.

Local governments in China are supporting domestic iron ore production by cutting taxes and therefore volumes will decline less than they did in 2012 during the last great correction.

They suggested iron ore financing is snowballing into a bigger problem, as steel mills roll over multiple letters of credit to pay for old ones and are forced to sell in the spot market to raise cash, which in turn puts more downward pressure on iron ore.

Source – SMH

voda 7 november 2014 15:45

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Australia shares give up gains as banks end rally before iron ore prices down

Reuters reported that Australian shares gave up early advances to be lower by mid session as investors sold down banks before they trade ex dividend and falling iron ore prices dragged down miners.

Traders and economists said that an unusual move by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to re state past employment data also weighed on sentiment because it raised doubts about the veracity of official jobs data.

Stocks rallied at the open on hopes that a sweeping Republican mid term election victory might inject momentum into the United States economy, but quickly retreated as investors cashed in on bank stocks before several banks trade ex-dividend next week.

Mr Tristan K'Nell, Quay Equities head of trading said that "People are taking profits because the banks have rallied pretty hard from early October. A few of them are probably seeing that the profit that they make from the trades is better than the risk of holding the stock into ex dividend."

Mr K'Nell said that “Largely unsurprising monthly employment data was overshadowed by questions about why the statistics bureau which compiles it was forced to revise several previous months' figures.”

Source – Reuters

voda 7 november 2014 15:47

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Japan's steel exports raise in Sep

According to data released by Japan Iron & Steel Federation, Japan’s exports of steel products increased to 3.74 million tons in September, up by 7.4% compared to the same month of last year.

The country’s exports have declined for the twelve consecutive months since August 2013. The country’s steel exports of common steel products totaled 2.42 million tonnes up by 6.8% YoY. Shipments of HRC totaled 991,000 tonnes up by 11.9% on year.

Source - www.yieh.com

voda 7 november 2014 16:45

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Valuta-effecten raken winst ArcelorMittal

VRIJDAG 7 NOVEMBER 2014, 07:33 uur | 5585 keer gelezen

LUXEMBURG (AFN) - Staalconcern ArcelorMittal heeft operationeel gezien een goed derde kwartaal achter de rug, met een forse groei in Europa en een herstel in Noord-Amerika en de voormalige Sovjet-staten. Negatieve valuta-effecten en financieringskosten zorgden echter voor een forse winstdaling. Dat blijkt uit de cijfers die het bedrijf vrijdag naar buiten bracht.

ArcelorMittal boekte een nettowinst van 22 miljoen dollar (17,8 miljoen euro), waar een jaar eerder nog een winst van 52 miljoen dollar in de boeken werd gezet. De post wisselkoerseffecten en financieringskosten steeg van 269 miljoen dollar in het derde kwartaal van 2013 tot 657 miljoen dollar. De omzet steeg licht, van 19,6 miljard tot 20 miljard dollar.

Dankzij verbeterde marktomstandigheden steeg het bedrijfsresultaat in Europa met bijna 73 procent en in de voormalige Sovjet-staten met bijna 90 procent. Hiermee werd ruimschoots een daling van de ijzerertsprijs met 47,9 procent gecompenseerd. Het totale bedrijfsresultaat (ebitda) steeg met 11,2 procent tot 1,9 miljard dollar. Bestuursvoorzitter Lakshmi Mittal verwacht een soortgelijke prestatie in het vierde kwartaal en rekent op een bedrijfsresultaat van meer dan 7 miljard dollar dit jaar.

Stijging

Het concern verscheepte 21,5 miljoen ton staal, een stijging van 3,9 procent op jaarbasis. De productie van ijzererts uit eigen mijnen nam met 6 procent toe tot 15,8 miljoen ton.

ArcelorMittal wist de marge op staal in alle regio's behalve Brazilië op te voeren. In Noord-Amerika verdiende het concern 1 dollar meer per ton dan een jaar eerder. In Europa steeg de winst per ton echter met maar liefst 20 dollar per ton en in de regio Afrika en de voormalige Sovjet-staten met 30 dollar per ton. Deze piek werd vooral gerealiseerd in Kazachstan en Oekraïne.

In Brazilië kampte ArcelorMittal met een zwakke binnenlandse vraag waardoor de verdiensten per ton met 32 dollar daalden. Het concern verwacht dat de vraag in Brazilië volgend jaar toeneemt.

voda 8 november 2014 15:37

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Approaching winter depresses steel export levels at Black Sea

As winter draw closer the market sentiments inches lower with mills finding it difficult to fill their rolling plans for December. Overall demand lull owing to Chinese competition and general slowing during winter in Europe is likely drift the price levels lower with each passing week.

Suppliers have started voicing price ideas for billet to be produced in December. Price ideas for Russian material were within USD 460-470 per tonne FOB Black/Azov Sea early this week, but since then the range has moved to USD 450-460 per tonne. In mid-October, deals were taking place primarily at USD 460-465 per tonne FOB Black/Azov Sea. Some exporters voice no offers of December material at all, trying to assess the market situation better.

Market participants agree that prices will continue their downward trend as exporters will yield to buyers' pressure, being in need to start concluding deals by the middle of the month. The levels are likely to settle come close to USD 440 per tonne [FOB Black/Azov Sea].

Likewise HR offer levels have taken hit of USD 13 per tonne. More so with approaching winter and Chinese HR offer levels remaining extremely competitive maintaining a gap of USD 30-40 per tonne has left no room for any improvement in this region. The only advantage going their way is the long delivery time of nearly 2 months for Chinese material. Logistical bottlenecks owing to ports freezing during winter places them at par with Chinese as far as delivery is concerned since both the material will be reaching destination at the same time.

There is reprieve for rebar market since scrap shortage during winters will pull up the cost and export offers from Turkey is likely to improve supplemented with demand from Middle Eastern market during winters with construction activity peaking during this period .

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 8 november 2014 15:38

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Downtrend trend continues in iron ore spot prices in China for the second day

Iron ore price levels continued reversal for the second day with another USD 1 per tonne drop. Having already broken 5 years low with each passing day new low are being recorded as global seaborne output exceeds demand by 100 million tonnes this year from 16 million tonnes in 2013.

The spot market seems to be deviating from futures as the most active iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.8 percent at CNY 511 per tonne in line with the most traded rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange which also went up by 0.3% to CNY 2533 per tonne

According to China Iron and Steel Association, the large steel producers in China have cut output for the most part of October, due to sluggish domestic demand and government directives to curb pollution ahead of APEC from 5th -11th November iron ore levels continued declining.

Iron ore financing in China also poses a big price risk and liquidity conditions in the industry are worse than in 2013. Iron ore financing is snowballing into a bigger problem, as steel mills roll over multiple letters of credit to pay for old ones and are forced to sell in the spot market to raise cash, which in turn puts more downward pressure on iron ore.

The China Iron and Steel Association said in its monthly market report that iron ore oversupply is still expected to worsen and there was still room for prices to drop further in November.

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 8 november 2014 15:40

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US Industry injured by non oriented electrical steel from China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden & Taiwan - USITC

The United States International Trade Commission determined that a US industry is materially injured by reason of imports of non oriented electrical steel from China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden and Taiwan that the US Department of Commerce has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value and are subsidized by the governments of China and Taiwan. The Commission made negative critical circumstances findings with respect to NOES from China, Germany, Japan and Sweden.

Vice Chairman Dean A Pinkert and Commissioners Mr Irving A Williamson, Mr David S. Johanson and Mr Rhonda K Schmidtlein voted in the affirmative. Chairman Meredith M Broadbent voted in the negative. Commissioner Mr F. Scott Kieff did not participate in these investigations.

As a result of the USITC's affirmative determinations, the US Department of Commerce will issue countervailing duty orders on imports of this product from China and Taiwan and antidumping duty orders on imports of this product from China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan.

The Commission's public report Non Oriented Electrical Steel from China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden and Taiwan (Investigation Nos. 701-TA-506 and 508 and 731-TA-1238-1243 (Final), USITC Publication 4502, November 2014) will contain the views of the Commissioners and information developed during the investigations.

Factual Highlights;
Non Oriented Electrical Steel from China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden and Taiwan Investigation Nos. 701-TA-506 and 508 and 731-TA-1238-1243 (Final)

Product Description:
Non oriented electrical steel (NOES) is a cold rolled, flat rolled, alloy steel product, whether or not in coils, of any width, having an actual thickness of 0.20 mm or more, in which the core loss is substantially the same in any direction of magnetization in the plane of the material. NOES contains by weight more than 1.00% but less than 3.5% of silicon, not more than 0.08% of carbon, and not more than 1.5% of aluminum. NOES has a surface oxide coating, to which an insulation coating may be applied. NOES is subject to these investigations whether it is fully processed (i.e, fully annealed to develop final magnetic properties) or semi-processed (i.e, finished to final thickness and physical form but not fully annealed to develop final magnetic properties).

Status of Proceedings:
1. Type of investigations: Final antidumping and countervailing duty.
2. Petitioner: AK Steel Corporation, West Chester, Ohio.
3. Preliminary investigations instituted by the USITC: September 30th 2013.
4. USITC hearing: October 8th 2014.
5. USITC vote: November 6th 2014.
6. Scheduled date for USITC views: November 18th 2014.

US Industry:
1. Number of producers in 2013: One.
2. Location of producer's plants: Ohio and Pennsylvania.
3. Employment of production and related workers in 2013: 1
4. Apparent US consumption in 2013: 1
5. Ratio of the value of total U.S. imports to total U.S. consumption in 2013: 1/

US Imports:
1. From the subject countries during 2013: USD 64.1 million.
2. From other countries during 2013: USD 5.0 million.
3. Leading sources during 2013: Japan, China, Sweden, Taiwan, Germany, and Korea (in terms of total value).

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 8 november 2014 15:40

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Iron ore prices to remain soft - Vedanta Resources CEO

Press Trust of India reported that iron ore prices will remain soft in the H2 due to over supply and subdued demand even as cost of the raw material dropped to its lowest in over five years.

Mr Tom Albanese CEO of Vedanta Resources said that “I think that the fundamentals of supply and demand would lead to soft prices in the second half of the fiscal.”

Mr Albanese said that "China's steel production growth is slowing. It is not dropping but the rate of increase is slowing. Combine that with the new iron ore production coming into the sea-bound markets, particularly from Australia and Brazil. These are having the collective effect on softening prices and those effects are likely to continue in the H2.

He said that as the environment of lower demand was likely to continue and the over supply will lead to softening of prices. These are the same reasons which are driving oil prices lower.

A senior executive of a public sector iron ore producing firm, however, differed, saying that “Rising cost of production would make operations unviable for many global mining companies if prices fall further. In that case, global supply would decline leading to an increase in the prices. I think, prices have bottomed out and it will only go up further in the coming days.”

Source - Press Trust of India

voda 8 november 2014 15:41

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Italy was one of the most negative months in Oct - Steel scrap market report

The steel products export from China during the first nine months of the year has surged to a new record as direct consequence of the domestic consumption falls. China’s net finished steel exports in September were impressively high: more than 7 million tonnes.

It means that Chinese steel makers exported about 12% of their monthly crude steel production, 50% more than the 2013. All that is well combined with the very competitive prices offered, due to the low iron ore and coking coal prices. But Chinese are also taking advantage of some tax exemptions to sell qualified steel products cheaply, adding a very low percent of boron in the melting, a forgettable operation in terms of production cost.

Hard competition to drive prices down;
The worldwide EAF steel makers are suffering the Chinese strong competition in the long products market. They are producing billets and rebars using the still expensive metallic raw materials, even if ferrous scrap prices fell more than USD 50 per tonne during the last five weeks. Today, for several steel makers, it is more expensive to produce such long products in their country than to import the cheaper Chinese steel.

The hard competition will influence the scrap in the short future, driving the prices down. In the latest October Worldsteel Short Range Outlook, the world apparent steel use growth forecast for 2014 and 2015 has been revised downward plus 2% for the current year, instead of the expected 3.1% and plus 2% for the 2015, instead of the estimated 3.3%.

Fire, accidents and troubles;
The October in Italy will be remembered by steel chain operators as one of the most negative months since long time. It started with the notice of the long production cease at the Riva Verona steel mill for important maintenances (three or more months), followed on the 10th by a fire inside the Arvedi Cremona steel mill, followed again on the 16th by an accident inside the Nunkisteel San Giorgio Nogaro steel mill and last but not least another accident to the Arvedi Cremona plant on the 2nd of November, during the restarting of the EAF. All that has to be jointed with the Lucchini Piombino still waiting for a new ownership, the well famous Ilva Taranto troubles and the heavy claim at the ThyssenKrupp Terni plant between the ownership and the labour unions, where strikes are suspending the production since the beginning of October.

An explosive mixture;
The scrap deliveries have been heavily influenced by these events, being the scrap demand suddenly decreased of more than 15 kilo tonne per day. The other mills have been engulfed by the scrap deliveries and one mill after the other suspended temporarily the reception not only from the domestic dealers but also from the foreign suppliers. All that was an explosive mixture in a generally doldrums market. The weekly domestic prices moved down up to EUR 35 during the month, while the monthly import contracts, settled at the beginning of October, have been reduced by EUR 15/20. The arrivals at the Italian ports during October have been abt 25 Kilo tonne for scrap, abt 160 Kilo tonne for pig iron and abt 42 Kilo tonne for HBI. The mills inventories are now full recovered also due to the always low demand of finished steel products.

Following the October official average prices reported (EUR/pmt delivered):
New arising E8:
1. Italy 260
2. France 270
3. Germany 270

Shredded E40:
1. Italy 265
2. France 270
3. Germany 270.

Demolition scrap E3:
1. Italy 240
2. France 245
3. Germany 245.

The November contracts will be influenced by restart of the Arvedi Cremona production and by the international markets trend. Further price reductions are foreseeable. The most important news of the month about ILVA Taranto is the Judiciary Court authorization to use the EUR 1.2 billion confiscated to the Riva family to finance the cleaning-up and revamping works. It means that now several lawyers will start a maybe very long battle before the money will be concretely usable by the Ilva commissioner. The talks with the possible buyers are still in progress.

Source – Recuclingportal.eu

voda 8 november 2014 15:45

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Severstal completes environmental improvement program at Cherepovets Steel Mill

The Cherepovets Steel Mill, one of the world’s largest integrated steel mills and part of the Russian Steel division of Severstal, one of the world’s leading steel and steel related mining companies, announced that it has completed a maintenance project to upgrade its No1 Converter. This marks the completion of RUB 3.4 billion environmental improvement program which included the installation of equipment to trap fugitive emission from the Mill’s No1, No2 and No3 converters. The program is expected to deliver an almost eightfold reduction in harmful atmospheric emissions at the Cherepovets Steel Mill.

Mr Sergey Toropov CEO of Severstal’s Russian Steel division said that “The upgrade of the No1 Converter, which involved replacing the housing of the melting unit and the mantle ring and installing an exhaust hood to trap fugitive emissions, was scheduled to take 44 days. I am pleased to report that we have managed to complete the work nearly eight days ahead of schedule, allowing us to produce an additional 56,765 tonnes of steel.”

Mr Sergey said that “The new system for capturing emissions, which includes, amongst other things, new bag filters, smoke exhausts, a compressor station, a package transformer and distribution substation, was installed at CherMK last year. In December 2013, the system was commissioned following maintenance on the No2 Converter. The No3 Converter was connected to the system in February 2014. The installation of an exhaust hood at the No1 Converter completes this major environmental program. The program is truly unique, as it was implemented without interrupting production.”

He said that “The main elements of this major environmental program have pleasingly all been completed on schedule. Whilst this program is the largest environmental project in the history of the Cherepovets Steel Mill, its completion does not mean the end of our focus on environmental improvements and we will continue to undertake activities to further improve the environmental performance of our production assets.”

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 8 november 2014 15:46

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Brazil's flats exports jump in October

According to data released by the Ministry of Development and Trade, Brazil’s exports of steel flat products amounted to 312,900 tonnes in October, jumping by 416.2% YoY rising by 30% MoM.

Meanwhile, its export revenues generated by steel flat products totaled USD 225.2 million FOB in October, soaring by 259.3% from a year ago and rising by 34.7% from September.

In October, the country’s exports of semi-finished steel products totaled 631,500 tons, increasing by 12.3% YoY. The sales revenues were at USD 301.4 million FOB, rising by 9.9% YoY.

Source - www.yieh.com

voda 8 november 2014 15:48

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Rio Tinto's Canadian iron ore train derails in Quebec

Reuters reported that train operated by Rio Tinto's Iron Ore Company of Canada has derailed in Quebec and its conductor was missing following an apparent landslide.

The Canadian iron ore miner said that early information indicated a landslide had caused the derailment of the train, which was transporting empty cars from Sept-Îles, Quebec and was found submerged in water.

The company said all railway traffic was suspended until further notice.

Ms Claudine Gagnon, a spokeswoman for Rio Tinto, said that "We will do our own investigation to determine the cause. Our priority is to find our employee."

In a separate statement, the Transportation Safety Board said that it was investigating the derailment.

Derailments have become a particularly sensitive issue in Canada since a crude oil train crash in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in July 2013 that killed 47 people. That train had only one conductor, an unusual practice in the North American railway industry. The only other railway cleared to run one-person trains in Canada was the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway.

Quebec Provincial Police said that they received a call at around. About the train's derailment in a remote location north of Sept-Îles.

Police had difficulty accessing the site, about 950 kilometers northeast of Montreal.

Mr Sergeant Claude Doiron of the Surete du Quebec said that "It's a very isolated site, located in the forest."

Iron Ore Company of Canada, majority owned by Rio Tinto, owns and operates the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway, which links its mine to port facilities.

Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corporation owns 15% of the company and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp owns 26%.

Source - Reuters

voda 8 november 2014 15:49

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Siemens to modernize pickling line for ArcelorMittal Asturias in Aviles

Spanish steel producer ArcelorMittal Asturias has awarded Siemens Metals Technologies an order to completely modernize the pickling line at its Aviles plant.

The aims of the project are to increase the capacity of the pickling line from 1.5 to 1.8 million tonnes per annum, and to further improve working safety. The revamp will be performed during short planned downtimes. The modernized line is scheduled to be operational at the end of 2015 and pay back within two years.

ArcelorMittal Asturias runs two integrated steel plants at its Aviles und Gijon locations in the Principality of Asturias in Northern Spain. The plant in Aviles has a productions capacity of 4.2 million tonnes of liquid steel per annum.

It produces a wide range of flat carbon-steel products, including hot and cold strip, as well as galvanized, tin coated and organically coated sheets. The pickling line had been revamped twice 30 years and 14 years ago by Cosim, the Spanish Clecim subsidiary, which is now part of Siemens. It processes strips for end applications in the construction and automotive industries.

For the modernization of the pickling line, Siemens will supply a charging section, a new strip preparation, a new entry section and will increase the capacity of the strip accumulators. A new scale breaker will replace the existing skin-pass mill. The exit section will be equipped with an edge notcher. In the course of the conversion, potential danger points will also be eliminated along the layout of the line to make work safer.

Siemens is responsible for the complete basic and detail engineering of the mechanical components, and will supervise the installation and commissioning of the line. The necessary work will be planned to minimize interruptions to production.

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 8 november 2014 15:49

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ArcelorMittal asks Canada PM to reverse Ebola Visa ban

The Canadian Press reported that an multinational company with major operations in Canada is asking Prime Minister Mr Stephen Harper to reverse the government's decision to restrict entry to Canada from Ebola affected countries.

The federal government announced last week it was suspending the issuance of new visas to residents and citizens of countries with widespread Ebola transmission and was also halting work on residency applications from those countries.

A senior official of ArcelorMittal has written Mr Harper asking the government to reconsider. The company, which is the world's leading steel and mining corporation, employs more than 10,000 people in Canada.

It is part of a group of companies which calls itself the Ebola Private Sector Mobilization Group; the corporations are helping in the effort to contain the Ebola outbreak.

Mr Bill Scotting CEO for mining of ArcelorMittal said that “Closing borders won't stop Ebola but will make fighting it more difficult. Our workers and the very needed health workers to combat the outbreak are increasingly scared to travel to the region for fear of being quarantined and stigmatized by their families and communities upon their return home."

Mr Scotting said that “We respect your concerns and need to protect Canada from Ebola, but the only solution is to combat this disease within West Africa and travel restrictions are slowing the response and making this harder. We hope you can find a way of meeting both Canada's needs whilst helping the international community truly combat the disease at source."

Source - The Canadian Pres

voda 8 november 2014 15:50

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ArcelorMittal announces result for Q3 and 9 months 2014

ArcelorMittal announced results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30th 2014.

Highlights
1. Health and safety performance improved in Q3 2014 to an LTIF rate of 0.78x
2. EBITDA of USD 1.9 billion in Q3 2014, an 11.2% improvement as compared to Q3 2013 with notable improvements in Europe (+72.6%) and ACIS (+89.5%), offset by the negative impact of iron ore price on the Mining segment (-47.9%)
3. Steel shipments of 21.5 MT in 3Q 2014, an increase of 3.9% as compared to Q3 2013.
4. Q3 2014 own iron ore production of 15.8 MT up 6% YoY; 10.0 MT shipped and reported at market prices up 6.3% YoY.
5. Net debt of USD 17.8 billion as of September 30th 2014 as compared to USD 17.4 billion as of June 30th 2014 due largely to working capital investment of USD 0.6 billion and dividends of USD 0.4 billion, partially offset by forex effects (USD 0.5 billion)

Key developments
1. Continued progress on ACIS turnaround evident through improved Kazakhstan and Ukraine performance.
2. ArcelorMittal Tubarão blast furnace No.3 restarted July 2014
3. Sale of Gallatin 50/50 JV in US to Nucor completed for USD 770 million; proceeds received in October 2014
4. Mining: Liberia phase 1 expected production and shipment of 5 MT in 2014 unaffected by Ebola epidemic. Phase 2 currently progressing at a slower pace due to contractors declaring force majeure.

Outlook and guidance framework:
1. Operating conditions remain generally favorable. The impact of declining iron ore price on Mining segment profitability is being offset by improvement in the steel business. The Company reiterates its guidance for EBITDA in excess of USD 7.0 billion in 2014,
2. Net interest expense is now expected to be approximately USD 1.5 billion for 2014,
3. Capital expenditure is now expected to be approximately USD 3.8 billion for 2014.
4. The Company maintains its medium term net debt target of USD 15 billion.

Mr Lakshmi N Mittal, Chairman & CEO of ArcelorMittal said that "This quarter’s results show the considerable improvement in our steel business which has more than offset the fall in the iron ore price. Europe has delivered another strong quarter, reflecting improved market conditions and the benefits of the optimisation efforts, the turnaround in ACIS is evident, and the NAFTA business has recovered after a disappointing first half. Based on today’s market conditions, I do not foresee a deterioration in our performance in the fourth quarter. As a result we are well placed to achieve full year EBITDA in excess of USD 7.0 billion.”

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 9 november 2014 14:59

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ArcelorMittal Europe announces operating profit for Q3 2014

ArcelorMittal Europe today announced its results for the Q3 of 2014. The segment recorded an operating profit of EUR 125 million, compared with operating loss of EUR 139 million for Q3 2013.

This marks the third successive quarter ArcelorMittal has reported a profit in Europe, following six successive quarters of losses as a result of the impact of the global financial crisis and the severe downturn in demand for steel in Europe.

As a result of the seasonal slowdown and the impact of a weaker Euro, third quarter 2014 Ebitda decreased by 21.7%, to EUR 394 million compared with EUR 503 million in the previous three months, However Q3 Ebitda was 72.8% higher than in the same quarter last year reflecting the improved market conditions, lower costs and the resulting improved steel margins.

Steel shipments in Q3 2014 were 9.8 million tonnes, a decrease of 3.6% compared with the previous quarter, while YoY shipments for this quarter rose 6.2% from 9.3 million tonnes. This YoY improvement during the seasonally slower quarter highlights the underlying improvement in ArcelorMittal Europe’s performance in 2014.

Sales in the ArcelorMittal Europe segment also decreased by 4.6% to EUR 7.3 billion this quarter, compared with EUR 7.7 billion in the Q2. This was primarily due to lower steel shipment volumes, and lower average selling prices.

Mr Aditya Mittal CEO ArcelorMittal Europe said that “We are continuing to see an improvement in the results for ArcelorMittal Europe, due to benefits of cost optimisation measures and an improvement in steel market conditions. Demand in Europe has remained robust during the seasonally weaker summer period, which is evident in today's figures that show a 72.8% YoY improvement in Ebitda for the Q3. We are maintaining our steel demand growth forecast of 3 % to 3.5%, for Europe for 2014.”

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 9 november 2014 15:00

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ArcelorMittal stabilises steel production at Vanderbijlpark

ArcelorMittal has completed its Newcastle reline project and stabilised steel production at Vanderbijlpark Works.

The steel manufacturing company’s operational update for the quarter ending September 30th 2014 reported the group’s capacity utilisation, excluding Newcastle, at 88% the highest in five quarters.

ArcelorMittal South Africa said that liquid steel production was 340,000 tonnes or 25 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year due to the planned reline of the blast furnace. The effect of the reline of the blast furnace at Newcastle not producing 400,000 tonnes was partly offset by higher production volumes at Vanderbijlpark. The company was running at 62% capacity overall compared to 83 per cent for the same period last year.

The group also reported local sales at 12,000 tonnes, which was 3% lower than the corresponding period last year mainly due to the effect of the metal and engineering strike at the beginning of the quarter.

Despite the reline at Newcastle, long product local sales were in line with last year as a result of buffer stocks produced before the reline and the import of billets which were used to continue producing the long steel products. The same period also saw export sales decrease by 19% driven mainly by long products following the reline refurbishment project in Newcastle.

The company said that its blast furnace at Newcastle was expected to complete its ramp up by mid November 2014 with total steel capacity utilisation expected to move back above 80% as all other units maintain their current production levels. This is also expected to raise sales despite the usual seasonal impact during the festive period.

ArcelorMittal South Africa has been experiencing tough trading conditions mainly due to lower steel demand, increased competition from China and low operating efficiencies. ArcelorMittal South Africa is entering a turnaround phase with a focused strategy of producing to capacity, reducing costs and embarking on a more aggressive sales strategy while improving relations with government.

Source – CNBC Africa

voda 9 november 2014 15:02

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Klockner & Co SE on strong upward trend in first nine months of 2014

Klockner & Company SE’s sales rose in the first nine months of 2014 by a marginal 0.1% to some EUR 4.9 billion. Thus sales increased to a lesser degree than shipments (up 1.8% to around 5 million tonnes) due to the weaker US dollar in the H1 year and the lower price level in Europe.

The focus on higher-margin business enabled the gross profit margin to be lifted from 18.4% to 19.3%. Gross profit rose as a result by 5.3% to EUR 952 million (previous year:EUR 904 million). EBITDA improved by 47% from EUR 108 million to EUR 160 million. The contributions from the KCO 6.0 and KCO WIN restructuring and optimization programs, totaling EUR 39 million, were the main driver behind the rise in earnings. EBIT more than tripled from EUR 30 million to EUR 92 million. Net income returned to positive figures and came to EUR 27 million, compared with a loss of EUR 31 million in the prior year period. Basic earnings per share rose accordingly from a negative EUR 0.31 to a positive EUR 0.27.

Mr Gisbert Ruhl, CEO of Klockner & Company SE said that “It is very satisfying that we improved our results not only against previous year but also quarter by quarter throughout the year.”

Significant boost to earnings in both segments;
Supported by the mild winter in the first quarter and the first-time consolidation of Swiss acquisition Riedo in the Q2, sales in the Europe segment rose by 1.4% compared with the first nine months of 2013. Mainly due to measures taken within the Group and despite the fact that market conditions remained very difficult, especially in France and Spain, EBITDA climbed by 34%, from EUR 68 million to EUR 91 million.

In the Americas segment, sales were 2.2% down on the prior year period. However, on a constant exchange rate basis, this represented a slight increase in segment sales despite the long and difficult winter in the USA, the consolidation of locations toward the end of last year, the drive to scale back low-margin business and margin based pricing. Segment EBITDA accordingly improved by 39%, from EUR 58 million to EUR 81 million.

Further progress in digitalization strategy;
Recent months have seen Klockner & Company push ahead with the digitalization drive that forms part of the Klockner & Company 2020 long term growth strategy. Work at the pilot facility in Regensburg on developing innovative tools in collaboration with customers has started to deliver results. A raft of solutions that significantly extend our service portfolio have already reached the implementation stage.

Mr Gisbert Ruhl said that “We are pushing the digitalization of our value chain, with the focus on customer benefits, and in doing so we have shown there is still plenty of room for innovation even in a somewhat conservative industry like ours.”

Outlook;
Klockner & Company expects that European steel demand will rise by 2% in the current year. In light of the fact that economic indicators have weakened recently, the growth forecast is at the lower end of the previously predicted range of 2% to 3%. For the USA, Klockner & Company is raising its growth forecast to 5% to 6% (previously: 4% to 5%) due to the still very robust state of the automotive industry and the upturn in commercial construction, which continues to gain momentum.

Given a seasonal decline in demand and the recent deterioration of the economic outlook for Europe, Klöckner & Company expects to see shipments down in the fourth quarter compared with the Q3. In addition, falling steel prices in the USA are adversely affecting earnings in the Americas segment. In total, EBITDA in the final quarter is expected to be between EUR 30 million and EUR 40 million. Klockner & Company is therefore fine-tuning its EBITDA guidance for the year as a whole to between EUR 190 million and EUR 200 million.

Mr Gisbert Ruhl said that “In light of the anticipated significant improvement in earnings, we plan to resume dividend payments for fiscal year 2014.”

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 9 november 2014 15:03

0

Shandong Iron & Steel loses CNY 991 million in Jan-Sept 2014

SMM reporetd that Shandong Iron & Steel Group posted a loss of CNY 991 million in profits during the first nine months of 2014.

The loss, compared with a loss of CNY 120 million a year ago, is up significantly, due to the sluggish steel market. It is also rumored that the company is going to lay off 10,000 workers in 3 years.

Shandong Iron & Steel Group, a state owned steel company in Shandong Province, has an annual capacity of more than 20 million tonnes.

Source - SMM

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