Sunday, 22 Jan 2012
Chennai port's loss was Ennore port's gain with coal handling moving away from Chennai to Ennore in the last nine months. This was the most significant trend observed in cargo handling among the country's major ports in the first nine months of the current financial year a period which witnessed a flat growth rate in cargo traffic when compared to previous year.
The country's major ports managed a 0.38% increase in cargo handling to 418 million tonne from April to December 2011 when compared to 416 million tonne in the same period last year.
A Chennai Port Trust official said that a 19.44% drop in iron ore handling was one of the main reasons for the flat growth. The ban on exports of iron ore by the Karnataka Government continues to bother ports such as Chennai.
The shift in coal to Ennore also coincides with the order of the Madras High Court to shift coal to Ennore from Chennai last year.
The Ennore port handled an additional 2.4 million tonne of thermal coal in the first nine months when compared with the same period last year. Similarly, the port handled 251,000 tonne of coking coal while it was nil in the previous year.
According to the latest data by the Indian Ports Association, on the contrary, the Chennai port lost nearly 400,000 tonne of thermal coal in the first nine months and nearly 140,000 tonne of coking coal.
Due to the 38% increase in handling of thermal coal, the Ennore port recorded the highest growth rate among all the ports of 42.69%.
On the other hand, the Chennai port suffered 8.35% decline in cargo handling due to drop in poor coal handling in the period under review.
(Sourced from BL)
Showing posts with label losses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label losses. Show all posts
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Coal importers face huge loss as stocks top 11 MT
Tuesday, 15 Nov, 2011
NEW DELHI: More than 11 million tonnes of imported coal, enough to light up five cities as big as Delhi, are stacked at Indian ports for over four months as power producers refuse to buy costly coal despite acute fuel shortage.
The importers face huge loss as the depreciation of the rupee and the recent fall in international coal prices add to their woes. Industry insiders said coal stockpile at various ports reached record level as traders were initially not willing to sell the commodity at loss. Disinterest among power generating companies to blend imported coal that increases electricity tariff also led to the glut. Industry sources said traders under pressure from creditors wanted to sell quickly.
"About 11.57 million tonnes of coal is lying at the ports. The traders, mostly small and inexperienced ones, bought coal from Indonesia and South Africa at higher prices. But the traders are holding the stock as they would not even be able to recover the costs with the kind of purchase offers being received," a senior official in Bhatia International said.
Global coal prices have come down by $5 a tonne in the past few months due to slowdown in various economies.
Rupee fell to a two-and-half-year low of 50.42 against dollar on Friday on the back of weak industrial production data and a sliding stock market.
Deloitte director consulting (mining) Dipesh Dipu said traders would be in lurch as dollar has become expensive and rent and repayment charges add to the costs.
"The traders placed coal supply orders a few months back when the rupee was trading at about 43-44 to a dollar. When the coal landed at the ports, rupee had started to fall and was about 48 to a dollar. Today, they are receiving enquiries at about 7% less than the prevailing price," a senior official in Adani Enterprises said.
The coal at ports could meet about 70% of the imported coal requirement of the country's largest power producer NTPC that has 35,000-mw generating capacity. NTPC targets to import about 16 million tonnes of coal this fiscal.
A senior NTPC official said the company was blending 10-15% of imported coal at most of its stations, but there were no buyers for expensive power generated by burning imported coal.
Jindal Power's RS Sharma said this could be a good opportunity for power companies to procure imported coal at low prices, but there was no demand for costly electricity. He said blending 10% of the imported fuel rises electricity tariff by 35-40 paise. Cash strapped distribution utilities were resorting to load shedding rather than purchasing electricity.
A senior power ministry official said even if companies get imported coal at low cost, most private power producers did not have enough domestic coal to blend. Indian power plants can accommodate only up to 15% of imported coal that has to be blended with domestic coal.
(sourced ET)
NEW DELHI: More than 11 million tonnes of imported coal, enough to light up five cities as big as Delhi, are stacked at Indian ports for over four months as power producers refuse to buy costly coal despite acute fuel shortage.
The importers face huge loss as the depreciation of the rupee and the recent fall in international coal prices add to their woes. Industry insiders said coal stockpile at various ports reached record level as traders were initially not willing to sell the commodity at loss. Disinterest among power generating companies to blend imported coal that increases electricity tariff also led to the glut. Industry sources said traders under pressure from creditors wanted to sell quickly.
"About 11.57 million tonnes of coal is lying at the ports. The traders, mostly small and inexperienced ones, bought coal from Indonesia and South Africa at higher prices. But the traders are holding the stock as they would not even be able to recover the costs with the kind of purchase offers being received," a senior official in Bhatia International said.
Global coal prices have come down by $5 a tonne in the past few months due to slowdown in various economies.
Rupee fell to a two-and-half-year low of 50.42 against dollar on Friday on the back of weak industrial production data and a sliding stock market.
Deloitte director consulting (mining) Dipesh Dipu said traders would be in lurch as dollar has become expensive and rent and repayment charges add to the costs.
"The traders placed coal supply orders a few months back when the rupee was trading at about 43-44 to a dollar. When the coal landed at the ports, rupee had started to fall and was about 48 to a dollar. Today, they are receiving enquiries at about 7% less than the prevailing price," a senior official in Adani Enterprises said.
The coal at ports could meet about 70% of the imported coal requirement of the country's largest power producer NTPC that has 35,000-mw generating capacity. NTPC targets to import about 16 million tonnes of coal this fiscal.
A senior NTPC official said the company was blending 10-15% of imported coal at most of its stations, but there were no buyers for expensive power generated by burning imported coal.
Jindal Power's RS Sharma said this could be a good opportunity for power companies to procure imported coal at low prices, but there was no demand for costly electricity. He said blending 10% of the imported fuel rises electricity tariff by 35-40 paise. Cash strapped distribution utilities were resorting to load shedding rather than purchasing electricity.
A senior power ministry official said even if companies get imported coal at low cost, most private power producers did not have enough domestic coal to blend. Indian power plants can accommodate only up to 15% of imported coal that has to be blended with domestic coal.
(sourced ET)
Friday, November 4, 2011
Mittal suffers loss after furnace fails
Conditions in struggling South African steel industry worsen over the past quarter
Friday, November04, 2011
ArcelorMittal SA reported a R460m headline loss for the third quarter ended September, following the failure of the blast furnace system at its Newcastle works in KwaZulu-Natal, and a sharp rise in input costs.
This compares with headline earnings of R473m for the previous quarter, and R68m for the same period last year.
The group also said yesterday that operating conditions in the steel industry had deteriorated sharply over the past quarter, with the weaker trend in SA’s economy having a big effect on major steel consumers. Strike s in the sector in July hit deliveries, with customers forced to delay orders.
"It has been a difficult and challenging quarter," CEO Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita said yesterday. "The Newcastle incident resulted in a substantial loss of production with a concomitant effect on our quarterly results."
She said to ease the effect on customers, 240000 tons of steel was secured in SA and globally, from ArcelorMittal Group mills, and dispatched from mid-October. This still left the market short, with a knock-on effect in the mainstay building and construction sector.
Most of ArcelorMittal SA’s key drivers exhibited stable to negative trends, with raw material prices rising further, and electricity costs soaring 25%. But the firm said strong growth was experienced in Kenya and Zambia, with increased activity in the construction and mining sectors.
"Management (said) at the half-year results that the third quarter would be tough, but the Newcastle furnace issues resulted in a much poorer result," Rubin Renecke, equity analyst at Kagiso Asset Management, said yesterday. "Globally, steel demand remains sluggish ... (but) the weaker rand against the dollar should be positive for local steel pricing going forward."
Year on year, revenue in the quarter rose 5% to R7,6bn, following an 11% increase in average net realised prices, but was considerably down from R8,8bn in the preceding June quarter. Overall steel sales were flat at 1,1-million tons, with long steel products falling by 10%, while flat steel products rose 4%.
Revenue from ArcelorMittal SA’s coke and chemicals division declined 38%, following a 40% decline in commercial coke sales and an 11% drop in average net realised prices. Sales were also hampered by weaker seasonal demand from the ferro-alloy industry due to high winter electricity tariffs, and the poor state of the stainless steel industry.
Liquid steel production fell 17% to 1,2-million tons in the quarter, mainly as a result of the structural failure at Newcastle.
(sourced BusinessDay)
Friday, November04, 2011
ArcelorMittal SA reported a R460m headline loss for the third quarter ended September, following the failure of the blast furnace system at its Newcastle works in KwaZulu-Natal, and a sharp rise in input costs.
This compares with headline earnings of R473m for the previous quarter, and R68m for the same period last year.
The group also said yesterday that operating conditions in the steel industry had deteriorated sharply over the past quarter, with the weaker trend in SA’s economy having a big effect on major steel consumers. Strike s in the sector in July hit deliveries, with customers forced to delay orders.
"It has been a difficult and challenging quarter," CEO Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita said yesterday. "The Newcastle incident resulted in a substantial loss of production with a concomitant effect on our quarterly results."
She said to ease the effect on customers, 240000 tons of steel was secured in SA and globally, from ArcelorMittal Group mills, and dispatched from mid-October. This still left the market short, with a knock-on effect in the mainstay building and construction sector.
Most of ArcelorMittal SA’s key drivers exhibited stable to negative trends, with raw material prices rising further, and electricity costs soaring 25%. But the firm said strong growth was experienced in Kenya and Zambia, with increased activity in the construction and mining sectors.
"Management (said) at the half-year results that the third quarter would be tough, but the Newcastle furnace issues resulted in a much poorer result," Rubin Renecke, equity analyst at Kagiso Asset Management, said yesterday. "Globally, steel demand remains sluggish ... (but) the weaker rand against the dollar should be positive for local steel pricing going forward."
Year on year, revenue in the quarter rose 5% to R7,6bn, following an 11% increase in average net realised prices, but was considerably down from R8,8bn in the preceding June quarter. Overall steel sales were flat at 1,1-million tons, with long steel products falling by 10%, while flat steel products rose 4%.
Revenue from ArcelorMittal SA’s coke and chemicals division declined 38%, following a 40% decline in commercial coke sales and an 11% drop in average net realised prices. Sales were also hampered by weaker seasonal demand from the ferro-alloy industry due to high winter electricity tariffs, and the poor state of the stainless steel industry.
Liquid steel production fell 17% to 1,2-million tons in the quarter, mainly as a result of the structural failure at Newcastle.
(sourced BusinessDay)
Bangladesh steel rebar makers incur BDT 600 million loss a day
Friday, 04 Nov 2011
Bangladesh steel product makers Wednesday said that one day's production loss now comes to BDT 600 million because of staggered gas supply at the country's prime rod manufacturing hub in Chittagong.
They said steel makers in Sitakunda and Baizid belts, nearly 250 kilometres away from Dhaka and just 15 kilometres from Chittagong Port manufacture around 10,000 tonnes a day.
The gas distribution entity Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company began gas staggering three days a week for the industrial belt on October 26. The manufacturers supply nearly cent per cent of quality mild steel rod to meet the country's requirements. Besides, on an average they supply 70% of total steel requirements of the country.
The major steel players in the belt are BSRM, AKS, RSRM, KSRM, SARM, GPH Ispat, Baizid Steel, Islam Steel which produce over 5000 tonnes of steel products a day. The other re-rolling mills numbering 40 plus produce nearly another 5000 tonnes, industry people said.
Mr Alihussain Akberali chairman and managing director of the country's largest steel maker BSRM Group said that "We estimate that production losses have reached BDT 600 million a day as all major players produce nearly 10,000 tonnes of steel products a day.”
Mr Alihussain Akberali hinted that the gas staggering would create shortage of MS products during its peak time leading to rise in the prices of key construction materials.
He said those who earlier converted their plants into furnace oil system, but kept it on hold, would raise their production cost. He added that "I think an additional BDT 1700 per tonne would be required if any rod manufacturer engages in production through furnace oil.”
Many millers said they would be forced to declare lay-off if the gas staggering continues for a few more days.
Head of Marketing and Production Development of the BSRM Group of Companies Mr Firoze has said they have two major re rolling plants in Chittagong in the Fouzderhat and Nasirabad industrial areas and production at both the units has reduced by 45% due to gas staggering. He said that "This will result in the hike of prices of rod, angle, channel and other steel products and the capital city will be most affected as flyovers and other major infrastructures in Dhaka are using 100% steel products made by the major steel plants of Chittagong.”
(Sourced from FE)
Bangladesh steel product makers Wednesday said that one day's production loss now comes to BDT 600 million because of staggered gas supply at the country's prime rod manufacturing hub in Chittagong.
They said steel makers in Sitakunda and Baizid belts, nearly 250 kilometres away from Dhaka and just 15 kilometres from Chittagong Port manufacture around 10,000 tonnes a day.
The gas distribution entity Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company began gas staggering three days a week for the industrial belt on October 26. The manufacturers supply nearly cent per cent of quality mild steel rod to meet the country's requirements. Besides, on an average they supply 70% of total steel requirements of the country.
The major steel players in the belt are BSRM, AKS, RSRM, KSRM, SARM, GPH Ispat, Baizid Steel, Islam Steel which produce over 5000 tonnes of steel products a day. The other re-rolling mills numbering 40 plus produce nearly another 5000 tonnes, industry people said.
Mr Alihussain Akberali chairman and managing director of the country's largest steel maker BSRM Group said that "We estimate that production losses have reached BDT 600 million a day as all major players produce nearly 10,000 tonnes of steel products a day.”
Mr Alihussain Akberali hinted that the gas staggering would create shortage of MS products during its peak time leading to rise in the prices of key construction materials.
He said those who earlier converted their plants into furnace oil system, but kept it on hold, would raise their production cost. He added that "I think an additional BDT 1700 per tonne would be required if any rod manufacturer engages in production through furnace oil.”
Many millers said they would be forced to declare lay-off if the gas staggering continues for a few more days.
Head of Marketing and Production Development of the BSRM Group of Companies Mr Firoze has said they have two major re rolling plants in Chittagong in the Fouzderhat and Nasirabad industrial areas and production at both the units has reduced by 45% due to gas staggering. He said that "This will result in the hike of prices of rod, angle, channel and other steel products and the capital city will be most affected as flyovers and other major infrastructures in Dhaka are using 100% steel products made by the major steel plants of Chittagong.”
(Sourced from FE)
Saturday, August 13, 2011
ArcelorMittal S.Africa furnace repair needs 3 months
Aug12, 2011 |By Thomson Reuters
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal South Africa, a unit of the world's top steelmaker, said on Friday the failure of the furnace at its Newcastle plant would result in a loss of 400,000 tonnes in output and the financial impact would be "substantial".
It also said in a statement that the blast furnace would take about three months to repair.
"ArcelorMittal South Africa management is in the process of exploring options to augment the supply to meet the domestic customer requirements for the next three months," it said.
"The financial impact is estimated to be substantial considering the potential sales volume loss. Insurers were notified of the incident and a claim will be submitted once the actual repair costs and consequential losses are finalised," it added.
The company had said on Wednesday that the furnace at its gas cleaning plant had failed and the dust catcher had partially collapsed.
The company's outlook is already subdued.
Higher input costs and a strong rand led to a 63 percent drop in the company's first-half profit and the steelmaker forecast a difficult third-quarter, partially due to a recent strike over wages and a planned maintenance shutdown at one of its plants.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal South Africa, a unit of the world's top steelmaker, said on Friday the failure of the furnace at its Newcastle plant would result in a loss of 400,000 tonnes in output and the financial impact would be "substantial".
It also said in a statement that the blast furnace would take about three months to repair.
"ArcelorMittal South Africa management is in the process of exploring options to augment the supply to meet the domestic customer requirements for the next three months," it said.
"The financial impact is estimated to be substantial considering the potential sales volume loss. Insurers were notified of the incident and a claim will be submitted once the actual repair costs and consequential losses are finalised," it added.
The company had said on Wednesday that the furnace at its gas cleaning plant had failed and the dust catcher had partially collapsed.
The company's outlook is already subdued.
Higher input costs and a strong rand led to a 63 percent drop in the company's first-half profit and the steelmaker forecast a difficult third-quarter, partially due to a recent strike over wages and a planned maintenance shutdown at one of its plants.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Australia's Bluescope Steel says H1 net loss A$55 mln
Feb 21, 2011
MELBOURNE Feb 21 (Reuters) - Australia's biggest steel maker, BlueScope Steel , posted a loss in first-half profit on Monday as its attempts to cut costs and lift Asian earnings was not enough to counter higher input costs, stagnant steel prices and softer demand.
Bluescope, which said conditions remained tough, posted a net profit of A$55 million in the six months to December, compared with a loss of A$28 million a year ago.
Bluescope said in November it expected to break even in the first half, or post a small loss on inventory adjustments, as it cut costs in the face of stagnant steel prices, high raw material costs, a strong Australian dollar and softer demand pinching profit margins.
Shares in Bluescope closed Friday at A$2.37, up from lows below A$2 in November but off highs above A$3 in April 2010. (Reporting by Miranda Maxwell; Editing by Balazs Koranyi, sourced:Thomson Reuters)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Central planning takes a black eye
24 Janurary, 2011 by J.M. BEIJINGIN CHINA’s power industry, government planners still hold sway. While coal prices have been largely freed, electricity prices are fixed by the state. The mismatch is a bane to power companies, which often complain of having to produce at a loss. Recent attempts by the government to reassert control over coal prices have not been helping.
The government and state-owned energy companies have become increasingly alarmed in recent months by rising inflation. The price of coal used for power generation and heating supplies rose by about 20% in 2010, even as that of electricity remained flat. Fearing that electricity producers would try to cut their losses by reducing output, on December 10th the government ordered that coal contracted for delivery to energy companies in 2011 must not be sold at a higher price than last year. The government fixes a quota of coal to be delivered under contract to power companies, which supplement their needs on the open market.
The price-taming effort backfired. To avoid having to buy coal at high market prices, many generating plants allowed their stocks to run down to critically low levels. Transport bottlenecks exacerbated by wintry weather made it difficult in some places to replenish them. In central and northern provinces, where electricity prices are set lower than on the coast, power rationing and outages have become common in recent weeks. In Henan, about 40% of power plants were reported last month to have no more than three days-worth of coal stocks. The recommended minimum is usually two to three weeks.
For all its frantic building of power plants in recent years, China is no stranger to such disruptions. Last year several cities ordered cuts in power deliveries in order to help the government meet year-end targets for conserving energy use. The government’s interference in the coal market complicated matters. In December, coal suppliers, reluctant to see the energy industry’s losses transferred to the mines, dragged their heels in the signing of delivery contracts for the coming year. And even though they eventually complied, few people seem inclined to believe that the coal industry has surrendered.
Coal companies are past masters of evading commitments to sell at the prices they have promised. They add fees, substitute lower-quality coal or simply fail to deliver, thus forcing the power companies to buy at spot prices. These are about 250 yuan ($38) per tonne higher than the 2010 contract price of 570 yuan. In 2009, according to reports in the state-run media, only half the amount of coal due to be delivered under contract actually reached the utility firms.
The government is unlikely to help out the power companies by raising electricity prices, at least not by much or any time soon. The last such hike was November 2009. Expectations of another increase ebbed last year as the government became preoccupied with taming inflation. Xinhua, a government news agency, quoted “insiders” as saying that efforts launched in 2002 to make electricity prices more market-driven would only “shamble ahead” in the coming five years, with no breakthrough expected.
In order to cajole the power and coal companies into sorting out delivery arrangements, the government’s economic planning agency organised a meeting of the main players this month in the southern city of Nanning. Reports in the Chinese media suggest the meeting only papered over their differences, with price disputes remaining unresolved. Central planners are losing their clout. (Picture credit: AFP, sourced:www.economist.com)
U.S.Steel narrows 4Q loss
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
United States Steel Corp. narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter to $249 million, or $1.74 per share, compared with a loss of $267 million, or $1.86 per share, a year ago.U.S. Steel Corp., which has a mill in Granite City, narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter to $249 million, compared with a loss of $267 million a year ago.
Sales for the quarter were up 28 percent to $4.3 billion.The company (NYSE: X) also narrowed its losses for the full year, reporting a loss of $482 million in 2010, an improvement over 2009, when the steel maker lost $1.4 billion.Any gains were partially offset by seasonal conditions in the fourth quarter, with a decrease in shipments and a decrease in prices, Chairman and CEO John Surma said in the earnings release.
sourced:St. Louis Business Journal from the Malia Spencer
Malia Spencer writes for the Pittsburgh Business Times, an affiliated publication.
United States Steel Corp. narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter to $249 million, or $1.74 per share, compared with a loss of $267 million, or $1.86 per share, a year ago.U.S. Steel Corp., which has a mill in Granite City, narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter to $249 million, compared with a loss of $267 million a year ago.
Sales for the quarter were up 28 percent to $4.3 billion.The company (NYSE: X) also narrowed its losses for the full year, reporting a loss of $482 million in 2010, an improvement over 2009, when the steel maker lost $1.4 billion.Any gains were partially offset by seasonal conditions in the fourth quarter, with a decrease in shipments and a decrease in prices, Chairman and CEO John Surma said in the earnings release.
sourced:St. Louis Business Journal from the Malia Spencer
Malia Spencer writes for the Pittsburgh Business Times, an affiliated publication.
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