Output falls at Russian steel producer Evraz
EVRAZ, Russia’s largest steel producer, said yesterday its steel production in the first quarter of 2012 fell 1.4 per cent year-on-year to 4.33m tonnes.
Production of crude steel increased five per cent compared to the fourth quarter on the back of growth in Russia and in the US, while operations in Ukraine and Europe decreased.
Evraz, whose 2011 net profit missed market expectations by 31 per cent, said in March that the outlook for the global steel industry would remain tough this year.
Evraz, which joined the FTSE 100 in December, saw its shares fall 1.56 to 315p yesterday.
Shares in Evraz were down three per cent year-to-date, underperforming a 10-per cent growth in Russia’s steel sector, said Dmitry Smolin, an analyst at Uralsib, said. “Some improvement in steel and mining volumes is unlikely to offset a negative effect from lower steel prices and a stronger rouble in the first quarter of 2012.”