Emirates Steel Increases Production By 33% 

(MENAFN - Emirates News Agency (WAM)) Emirates Steel has announced the increase in its steel production volume by 33% through the end of Quarter 3, 2012.

Owned by Senaat GHC, the Company has increased its dispatch of prime quality finished goods by 10% compared with the levels achieved in the same period of 2011.

"Despite the challenging conditions faced in both our domestic and regional markets, the Company has delivered a strong performance in the first three quarters, delivering volumes which were underpinned by the excellent performance of our Phase 1 assets and the continuing ramp-up of our Phase 2 steel manufacturing plants," said Engineer Suhail M Al Ameri, Emirates Steel's Chairman and CEO of Senaat GHC.

Commenting, Engineer Saeed G Al Romaithi, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Steel, said that 95% of the Company's finished products were produced from its own manufactured steel, against 83% to the end of Quarter 3 in 2011. "The increased volumes of own manufactured steel has enabled us to remain competitive in the context of the threat of low cost imported materials," he added.

According to figures released yesterday, rebar production increased by 10% in the nine months compared to the same period in 2011, and the output of wire rod increased by 4%. Steel production increased by 33%, and the production of direct reduced iron (DRI) went up by 20%.

"These figures reflect significant increases in our production and sales volumes," said Engineer Al Romaithi. "The construction sector is the primary consumer of our rebar and wire rod products. Our objective is to be one of the leading regional companies in steel making," he pointed out. The Company sells around 70% of its finished products in local markets, while the balance is exported.

He believes that construction projects in the GCC region will be the key driver supporting the steel industry's growth in near term, followed by oil and gas, petrochemicals and other infrastructure projects. "Although some stability is returning to the GCC's construction sector, we believe that infrastructure projects will accelerate the region's recovery over the next few years," highlighted Engineer Al Romaithi.

Emirates Steel's increase in its domestic market share to 60% has been achieved through targeted efforts to support key customers and by pursuing sales policies that assist in bringing stability to the market. As well as focusing on the domestic market, the Company has made sustained efforts to increase its exports to the regional markets, achieving a year on year increase of 30% in export volumes, its most significant export markets being the GCC states.

The first nine months of 2012 have been an exciting period, with the Company progressing the hot commissioning of the first heavy sections mill in the region. The commissioning is ahead of plan and the Company is already marketing its new products and the feedback from its new customers, including steel stockists and fabricators, is positive. This is the latest achievement in the expansion of the Company's integrated steel complex in Musaffah and this step has extended the product range to include large-size sections, beams, columns, angles and sheet pile materials.