In the first quarter of the current year, Turkish integrated long steel producer Kardemir Karabuk Demir Celik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS posted a consolidated profit of TRL 46.57 million compared to a profit of TRL 6.76 million recorded in Q1 2010 up by almost seven times mainly due to higher sales prices.

In the given period, Kardemir's sales revenues improved by 29% YoY to TRL 295.61 million.

In the Q1 of 2011, Kardemir's average sales price for steel billets improved by 45% to TRL 982 per tonne while its average sale price for rebar stood at TRL 1,005 per tonne up 32% its price for sections was TRL 1,178 per tonne up 29% and its average sale price for rails amounted to TRL 1,661 per tonne up 0.48% all compared to the corresponding period of 2010.

In the Q1 of this year, Kardemir produced 177,900 tonnes of metallurgical coke up 5.65%, 277,287 tonnes of crude steel up 0.4% and 5,681 tonnes of pig iron down 38.6% all compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Meanwhile in the quarter in question, the company's billet output totaled 225,017 tonnes increasing by 2.73% while its bloom output amounted to 70,450 tonnes rising by 21.22% both compared to Q1 2010.

In the January to March period of this year, Kardemir's rebar output surged by 11% reaching 146,142 tonnes its section production climbed by 87% to 32,894 tonnes while its rail product output totaled 27,781 tonnes down 3.65% all compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

(Sourced from www.steelorbis.com)