OREANDA-NEWS. February 02, 2010. Azovstal Iron &Steel Works increased its January output by 4.9% m/m, which is almost twice the level reached in January 2009. Specifically, the pig iron output amounted to 411ktonnes, that of crude steel was 487ktonnes and the rolled metal output was 456ktonnes. The positive Azovstal monthly output dynamics trend was followed only by “ArselorMittal Krivyi Rih” with a 3.9% growth. The output of all the other Ukrainian steelmakers declined in January with spreads of between 0.4% and 7.8% m/m, despite an impressive 25.9% average industry y/y increase.

Millennium Capital: such an impressive recovery of the yearly output growth indicators was reached due to a low level of the comparative base in January 2009; as such, one should not assign too much weight to the yearly output increase data above. In fact, the monthly output growth numbers are more representative: the vertically integrated companies are the leaders, as we wrote in our 2010 strategy entitled “2010: great expectations”. As Millennium Capital has predicted, the raw material supply problems have come to the fore to date. Being vertically integrated, AZST and KSTL have managed to cope with these problems better than the other Ukrainian steelmakers.