Wrap Text
Operational information for the quarter ended 30 September 2014
ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited
(“ArcelorMittal South Africa”, “the company” or “the group”)
Registration number: 1989/002164/06
Share code: ACL
ISIN: ZAE 000134961
Operational information for the quarter ended 30 September 2014
- Newcastle reline completed
- Steel production stabilised at Vanderbijlpark Works
- Capacity utilisation excluding Newcastle at 88%, highest in five quarters
Operational information
Quarter ended Nine months Year
30 Sept 30 Jun % 30 Sept % 30 Sept 31 Dec
2014 2014 change 2013 change 2014 2013
Liquid steel production 1 021 1 145 (10,8) 1 361 (25,0) 3 407 5 096
Flat steel products 000 tonnes 936 901 3,9 879 6,5 2 655 3 229
Long steel products 000 tonnes 85 244 (65,2) 482 (82,4) 752 1 867
Capacity utilisation 62 71 (12,7) 83 (25,3) 70 76
Flat steel products % 88 86 2,3 83 6,0 85 74
Long steel products % 15 43 (65,1) 83 (81,9) 44 81
Steel sales
Local 000 tonnes 750 762 (1,6) 777 (3,5) 2 284 3 126
- Flat steel products 000 tonnes 479 494 (3,0) 499 (4,0) 1 448 2 003
- Long steel products 000 tonnes 271 268 1,1 278 (2,5) 836 1 123
Export 000 tonnes 288 299 (3,7) 357 (19,3) 949 1 104
- Flat steel products 000 tonnes 243 236 3,0 257 (5,4) 779 768
- Long steel products 000 tonnes 45 63 (28,6) 100 (55,0) 170 336
Total 000 tonnes 1 038 1 061 (2,2) 1 134 (8,5) 3 233 4 230
- Flat steel products 000 tonnes 722 730 (1,1) 756 (4,5) 2 227 2 771
- Long steel products 000 tonnes 316 331 (4,5) 378 (16,4) 1 006 1 459
Coke and chemicals
Commercial coke produced 000 tonnes 150 144 4,2 109 37,6 379 391
Commercial coke sales 000 tonnes 104 117 (11,1) 154 (32,5) 312 545
Tar sales 000 tonnes 29 27 7,4 32 (9,4) 82 109
Comments
Update on reline of blast furnace
The reline of the blast furnace in Newcastle which commenced in May 2014 was recently completed. The furnace is
currently ramping up and it is expected to be in full production by mid-November 2014.
Production
Liquid steel production was 340 000 tonnes or 25% 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% for the same period last year.
Sales
Local
Local sales were 12 000 tonnes or 3% lower than the corresponding period last year driven mainly by flat products
which were down due to the effect of the metal and engineering strike at the beginning of the quarter. Despite the reline at
Newcastle, long products 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.
Export
Export sales decreased by 69 000 tonnes or 19% driven mainly by long products following the reline refurbishment
project in Newcastle.
Commercial coke
The sales of commercial coke were 50 000 tonnes or 32% lower than the corresponding period. The company experienced
sorting problems of coal in quarter two at Newcastle which limited the stock available for sale in quarter three.
Outlook for quarter four
As the blast furnace at Newcastle is expected to complete its ramp up by mid-November 2014, total steel capacity
utilisation is expected to move back above 80% as all other units will maintain their current production levels. Sales should
also increase despite the usual seasonal impact during the festive period.
As reported in our interim results in August 2014, 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. ArcelorMittal South Africa remains
committed to the development of the South African steel industry and to the role that the company plays in the ongoing
social and economic transformation of communities around its operations and the South African economy as a whole.
Sponsor: JP Morgan Equities South Africa Proprietary Limited
Release date: 7 November 2014
This report is available on ArcelorMittal South Africa’s website at: http://www.arcelormittalsa.com
Date: 07/11/2014 08:00:00 Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited ('JSE').
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