PAO Severstal said Oct. 11 that crude steel production in the third quarter inched up 2% from the second quarter to 3.1 million tonnes, and hot metal output increased 2% to 2.3 Mt.

Total steel sales dropped 5% to 2.7 Mt due to short-term maintenance at rolling-mill facilities. The company said high value-add products accounted for 48% of sales, compared to 46% in the previous quarter, thanks to higher sales of color-coated and large-diameter pipe products; semifinished and hot-rolled coil sales declined.

The Russian steel producer booked sales of 109,000 tonnes of coking coal concentrate. Compared to the second quarter, iron ore sales were down 23% to 1.7 Mt, with pellets falling 29% to 1.5 Mt. Iron ore pellet sales in the second quarter accounted for a share of finished goods in transit, which carried over from the previous quarter.

In the first nine months of the year, Severstal's crude steel output rose 5% year over year to about 9.1 Mt, and hot metal production inched up to 6.9 Mt. Consolidated sales volumes in the period rose 4% on a yearly basis to 8.4 Mt.