Russia's Severstal Q1 steel output up 5 pct y/y

Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:47am GMT

* Q1 crude steel output is 3.65 mln tonnes
* Gold output up y/y, down q/q

MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - Russia's top steelmaker Severstal (CHMF.MM: Quote) said on Thursday its crude steel output rose to 3.65 million tonnes in the first quarter 2011, up 5 percent from the same period last year.

However, production was down 5 percent compared with the last quarter 2010, when output reached 3.84 million tonnes.

Severstal is counting on growing demand at home and overseas to boost sales and production this year after posting a bigger than expected loss in the final quarter of 2010.

Its gold output rose by 42 percent year-on-year to 173,930 ounces but was also down on a quarterly basis by 10 percent.

Severstal has assets in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Italy, France, the United States and Africa and is controlled by its Chief Executive Alexei Mordashov.

Severstal is self sufficient in coking coal and iron ore in Russia and 50 percent self sufficient in coking coal in the United States.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova ; Editing by David Holmes,sourced Thomson Reuters)