ArcelorMittal South Africa Annual Report 2009
Operational review and locations continued
Long Carbon Steel Products
The Long Carbon Steel Products segment
produces a range of long products at the
integrated steel works at Newcastle Works and
the electric arc furnace at Vereeniging Works.
These products include bar, billets, blooms,
hot- nished and cold-drawn seamless tubes,
window and fencing pro les, rod and light,
medium and heavy sections. The biggest market
exists in the building and construction industry,
which accounted for about half of the sales
during the year. Other signi cant markets are the
mining, automotive, agricultural, engineering,
manufacturing and petrochemical industries.
The segments combined annual production
output capacity is about 2.3 million tonnes
liquid steel, with Vereeniging Works capable of
producing 0.4 million tonnes and Newcastle
Works 1.9 million tonnes. ArcelorMittal South
Africa is committed to meeting domestic sales
first but is also a strong competitor in the global
market, thanks to its ability to provide high-
quality products at competitive prices.
Markets
Domestic
Local shipments of long steel products in 2009
declined by 36% as several private sector
investment projects were cancelled. Residential
building was subdued due to risk-averse lending
policies by commercial banks, while non-
residential building activity virtually ground to a
halt during 2009. As a result of the depressed
market conditions in South Africa, the business
focused attention on the export market. Thus
only 61%
of total long steel product sales were
sold on the domestic market as opposed to
92%
in 2008. Total sales to the African continent
amounted to 91% of total shipments, similar to
the percentages in 2007 and 2008.
International
Export sales of long steel products in 2009 were
4.5 times higher than in the previous year as
ArcelorMittal South Africa shifted output from
the depressed local market. Shipments outside
the African region, mainly to Asia, amounted
to only 9% of total long steel product sales,
compared with 5% in 2008. The average net
realised export prices for long steel products
plunged by 51% in 2009.
Operational results for the year ended 31 December
2009
2008
Revenue (Rm)
8 531 12 950
Net operating income (Rm)
315
3 672
Liquid steel production (000 t)
1 879 1 690
Sales volumes (000 t)
1 615 1 677
Domestic
993
1 540
Export
622
137
Domestic sales (%)
61
92
Capital expenditure (Rm)
271
541
Average low-carbon wire-rod export price USD/t(c&f)
510
909
Number of employees
2 708 3 008
Total billet cash cost Rand per tonne
3 460 3 822
Total billet cash cost USD per tonne
410
463
Net operating income
Long Steel Products (Rm)
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
315
3 672
2 652
2 111
2 109