Resita steel mill offsets losses

Combinatul Siderurgic Resita (CSR), the Romanian steel mill part of TMK Russian group’s portfolio, the world’s second biggest pipe producer, in the first half of this year registered turnover worth 50.3m euros (over 178m RON), 34.5% higher compared with the figure logged in the corresponding period of last year. Sales growth allowed the company to offset the losses it had posted during the first quarter and end the first six months of this year in the black. CSR’s net income in the first half was of around 6,000 euros (21,500 RON), against profit worth 450,000 euros in the similar period of 2005. “In the case of CSR, we are further investing in retooling to boost production and cut production costs. The continuous pouring machine to be installed this year will also trigger substantial cost savings. Thus, by the end of this year, we estimate we will be able to derive income standing at around 2 million dollars,” stated Adrian Popescu, chairman of TMK Artrom, the company managing CSR.