US Steel Vice President for HN: The only real option is to switch to steel production using electricity – HNonline.sk

Košice Steelka is currently experiencing an exceptionally good year. Last year, it generated a loss of almost $ 30 million in the first nine months. More than 700 million are now in the red. What is the reason?
After the arrival of the pandemic, we could feel the immediate direct impact on citizens and the economy. After the lockdowns, however, came the market recovery. We have seen a huge increase in demand for our products, especially in the construction industry. He reported a strong recovery until he was hit by a shortage of chips, along with the automotive industry. Deliveries also increased in the chemical and food segments, where our products are mainly used as part of packaging. The economic results reflect these trends, as well as the increase in the prices of input materials and our products. We go to full capacity all year. We have contracted volumes that reflect our production, and the result is that we have EBIDTA in three quarters of more than $ 700 million compared to last year’s loss.

How is the current factory?
All three furnaces are working. One of them is already in the planned outage due to scheduled maintenance and reconstruction work. It will take a total of two months, but we have prepared for this and taken steps to meet all the agreed deliveries.

Is it also possible to quantify production occupancy?
We follow the so-called melt backlog in our factory. It’s about how much tonne you have contracted while waiting for production. It is bad if you have little contracted, on the contrary, too much means a long waiting time for the delivery of ordered products to customers. In order for the whole process to be efficient, we have a minimum volume for a given production capacity. This year we have already been at more than twice this minimum and now we are at about one and a half times. This is despite the fact that the automotive segment is currently in weak shape due to the chip crisis.

Production inputs and sales prices went up. Can record sales and turnovers be expected in this context?
I must say that we are part of a US Steel corporation that is listed on the US Stock Exchange. For this reason, we cannot publicly comment on any expectations. In any case, I can say that the fourth quarter should remain good in demand.

Is it not a paradox that, on the one hand, energy-intensive industries are still complaining about the current situation, and yet this year is likely to achieve record economic results?
It is a holy truth that, on the one hand, this year’s industrial production is sifting. On the other hand, no one can guarantee that we will have such profits for the next five to ten years. It is also necessary to say that there is an unprecedented increase in electricity prices and that we have high tariff fees in Slovakia compared to abroad for energy-intensive industries. We do not receive such compensation related to increased electricity prices p

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