UPDATE 1-Russia's Severstal boosts H1 steel output 12 pct

Tag : hot strip

MOSCOW, July 28 (Reuters) - Severstal , Russia's largest steel maker, raised crude steel output 12percent to 10.1 million tonnes in the first six months of 2008 duemainly to U.S. acquisitions and selling its products at higherprices.
Severstal , majority owned by billionaire Alexei Mordashov, said in astatement on Monday it sold hot-rolled strip and plate at anaverage $760 per tonne in the first half of the year, 28 percentmore than a year ago.
Rolled product output rose 11 percent year-on-year to 7.6 milliontonnes, the company said.
Severstal said its Russian steel operations, based on its plant inthe city of Cherepovets, boosted crude steel output 5 percent to6.3 million tonnes in the first six months of 2008.
Output at its North American mills rose 76 percent to 2.0 milliontonnes, while Italian subsidiary Lucchini produced 1.8 milliontonnes, down 7 percent year-on-year.
In the second quarter alone, Severstal's total crude steelproduction was 5.3 million tonnes, up 10 percent on the precedingthree months. Rolled product output rose 13 percent to 4.0 milliontonnes in the same quarter-on-quarter comparison.
Severstal said coal production declined 33 percent in the firsthalf of 2008 from a year earlier to 3.6 million tonnes, largelybecause the company sold several mines to ArcelorMittal in April 2008.
Iron ore output rose 7 percent to 7.6 million tonnes and thecompany also produced its first gold.
To see Severstal's trading statement, please double-click on[ID:nRnsb9769Z].
(Reporting by Robin Paxton; editing by Michael Roddy)
Keywords: SEVERSTAL/OUTPUT
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