Mittal Steel Galati steps back into the black

Galati-based steel plant Mittal Steel, a part of the Arcelor Mittal group, saw a 167 million-RON (47.3 million-euro) net profit last year, against losses of 161 million RON (44.4 million euros) in 2005. Its return to profit was facilitated by focusing on products with a higher added value and by cutting production costs. The company’s turnover saw a slight decline, from 6.35 billion RON (1.75 billion euros) in 2005, to 6.08 billion RON (1.72 billion euros) in 2006. “The decline in turnover was generated by a reduction in deliveries by 5-6%, prompted mainly by bad weather, which made it harder for us to make deliveries over water at the beginning of the year. This was compounded by the shutdown of a furnace due to major repair works,” stated Augustine Kochuparampil, CEO of Galati-based Mittal Steel. “However, we focused on products with a higher added value, and we also benefited from an around 3% cut in the cost of raw materials, therefore managing to increase our profit margins,” added Kochuparampil.