Russian miner
Mechel OAO
(
MTL
) announced the resumption of operations at some of its Bluestone
mining facilities in West Virginia, U.S. The decision to resume
operations at the mine was based on the decline in coal
inventories in the mine. The company resumed open pit mining at
the Justice and Dynamic Energy complexes. The complexes are
expected to produce about 135,000 tons a month.
Bluestone is the mining division of Mechel and production at the
mine was temporarily suspended in Oct 2012 due to an accumulation
of coal inventories. Mechel stated that it will resume mining at
other facilities when market conditions improve.
Last month, Mechel announced that it will discontinue production
at its Southern Urals Nickel Plant OAO owing to persistent
slowdown in demand for nickel and bleak outlook for its recovery
in the near future.
The decision of halting production was taken to minimize losses.
The company will comply with all the regulations that are set
forth by the Russian Federation's law for the shutdown.
Mechel released its third-quarter 2012 results in Dec 12. The
company posted consolidated net income of $54.9 million for the
quarter compared with $25.7 million in the year-ago quarter,
representing a roughly 114% surge. Revenues for the quarter came
in at roughly $2.71 billion, down 15.4% from $3.21 billion in the
year-ago period.
The company registered an operating income of $126.7 million
in the quarter compared with $529.5 million a year ago, leading
to a contraction in operating margin. Adjusted earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) declined
44.7% year over year to $374.8 million in the quarter.
Mechel remains focused on improving its core divisions, such
as mining and full-cycle steelmaking, and has adopted several
measures to cut costs and increase sales. Its cost containment
initiatives led to marked improvement in its bottom line in the
third quarter.
Mechel currently retains a short-term Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Other companies in the steel industry with favorable Zacks Ranks
are
Gibraltar Industries Inc.
(
ROCK
),
POSCO
(
PKX
) and
ArcelorMittal South Africa
(
AMSIY
). While both Gibraltar and POSCO hold a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong
Buy), ArcelorMittal South Africa holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
(AMSIY): ETF Research Reports
MECHEL OAO ADS (MTL): Free Stock Analysis
Report
POSCO-ADR (PKX): Free Stock Analysis Report
GIBRALTAR INDUS (ROCK): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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