Posted on 18 Aug 2020
Brazilian slab producer Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP) saw production decrease in the second quarter. Sales also fell in the period, Kallanish learns from data issued by South Korean joint venture partner Dongkuk Steel.
“In Q2 we secured minimum quantities by diversifying sales territories, although demand decreased due to the Covid-19 outbreak,” Dongkuk says. Production was cut due to falling slab prices. The steelmaker expects Q3 production to recover to levels seen in Q3 2019.
CSP’s slab production reached 603,000 tonnes in Q2, down -14.9% compared to the volume of 709,000t in the same period of 2019 and -14.8% less over Q1 2020. During the first half of 2020, output was 1.31 million tonnes, almost -9.1% lower on-year.
CSP’s Q2 sales amounted to 575,000t, down by -19.5% on-year and -23.5% less q-o-q.
The Brazilian slab export price has seen a continuous increase in the last three months from $334/tonne in June to $374/t on a fob basis in August, the steelmaker confirms. Dongkuk estimates the slab export price should reach $379/t in September, but this value is still far from the 2020 high of $466/t seen in April.
The slab producer’s revenue represented just 4% of the South Korean steelmaker’s total KRW 1.3 trillion ($1.1 billion) consolidated revenue in Q2.
CSP is the fourth-largest steelmaker in Brazil. The company is a joint venture formed by Vale (50% share) and South Korean companies Dongkuk (30%) and Posco (20%).
Source:Kallanish
