Most top-ranking companies saw 40% to 50% increases in turnover last year after the significant declines recorded a year before, with some of the players returning to profit or at least cutting their losses, show data obtained by ZF in view of putting together the “Biggest Players in the Economy” Yearbook that will hit the newsstands this month.
Last year, production increases coupled with higher delivery prices, while export demand accounted for the bulk of orders.
Market leader ArcelorMittal Galati, which in 2009 posted a record-high loss of EUR334 million and saw EUR1 billion erased of its turnover, significantly narrowed its loss, but grew slower than the other market players, posting a EUR1.125 billion turnover.
Before the world economic crisis kicked off, ArcelorMittal’s turnover amounted to EUR2 billion, but in 2009 the turnover fell over 50%, to EUR850 million, according to industry sources.
Laminorul Braila steel plant, which was acquired by the Mechel group in early 2010, saw its turnover rise 13-fold to EUR123.8 million, making it directly at no. 7 in the ranking of the biggest players on the market.
Italy’s Tenaris managed last year to leave behind the steel plant held in Targoviste by Russia’s Mechel (EUR202.3 million in turnover), and climbed to no. 2 after seeing its business rise more than two-fold, to EUR252.3 million. Tenaris Silcotub is also one of the few companies which returned to profit as early as last year.