The Russian coal and steel conglomerate, Mechel, boosted total coal production by 24 percent last year on demand from metals companies while making less steel itself.
Coal production climbed to 26.4 million tons, of which 15.1 million tons was coking coal, the firm said Thursday - a 45 percent rise - and 11.2 tonnes of coal used in steelmaking - a rise of 4 percent.
Mechel's Romanian steel assets turned in a profit for the first time last year, however steel production fell 3 percent to 5.909m tonnes in 2008
The company had a record first nine months in 2008, followed by a 50 percent plunge in fourth-quarter orders for coking coal.
Billionaire owner and CEO Igor Zyuzin said last month that the miner would cut steel production by as much as a quarter. Mechel reduced work hours last year to save $30 million without eliminating jobs.
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