Highveld metal production heating up

Johannesburg - Highveld Steel and Vanadium [HVL:HVL], South Africa's second-largest steel producer, on Thursday reported a 19.1% increase in year-on-year (y/y) production in the second quarter of 2010.
   
The company reported hot metal output of 173 862 tonnes for the second quarter of 2010, compared to 146 013 tonnes in the same quarter the year before.
   
Quarter-on-quarter (q/q) hot metal production was 3.7% lower from 180 456 tonnes in the first quarter of 2010.
   
Continuously cast block production reached 175 785 tonnes in the second quarter, 19.5% higher than the 147 072 tonnes produced in the same quarter of 2009 but 2.2% lower than the 179 718 tonnes produced in the first quarter.
   
Production of sections was 58.3% higher y/y to 56 484 tonnes, while production of plates was up 50.9% to 50 625 tonnes and coil production climbed 63.2% to 34 317 tonnes in the second quarter.
   
Improvement was also seen in vanadium production, with vanadium slag output up 47.8% y/y to 3.65 million kg.
   
Ferrovanadium production grew 25.3% to 1.39 million kg.
   
The average selling price of steel was 36.9% higher at $713 per tonne during the quarter, while the average selling price of vanadium slag was 100% higher at $7 per kg and ferrovanadium fetched $30 per kg, an improvement of 57.9%.
   
At 14:20 on Thursday Highveld Steel shares were 1.18% or 99 cents lower at R83 on the JSE.

- I-Net Bridge