The reline of the blast furnace in Newcastle‚ which commenced in May 2014‚ was recently completed and the furnace was ramping up and it was expected to be in full production by mid-November 2014‚ the company said.
"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 tons 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‚" the company said.
Local sales were 12 000 tons 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.
Export sales decreased by 69 000 tons or 19%‚ driven mainly by long products following the reline refurbishment project in Newcastle.
The sales of commercial coke were 50 000 tons or 32% lower than the corresponding period.
The company said it had been experiencing tough trading conditions mainly due to lower steel demand‚ increased competition from China and low operating efficiencies.
ArcelorMittal SA was 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‚ it said.
Source: BDpro
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