Novolipetsk Steel expects to report record output this year as it starts a new blast furnace at its main production site in central Russia, the company known as NLMK said Tuesday.
Crude-steel output may reach 12 million tons in 2011, up from 11.5 million tons last year. Production will climb 10 percent this quarter from the previous three months, it said. NLMK reported second-quarter sales of $2.98 billion.
NLMK is raising steel output to benefit from wider profit margins in the country, where production costs are lower than in Western Europe and the United States. The company is scheduled to publish results around Nov. 7.
(Bloomberg)
