“Mining continues to be a growth driver for our business, and in line with this strategy, we recently commissioned the Olzherasskaya coal mine, which will allow us to increase coal output by 1.8 million tonnes in 2007 and by 3Mt annually starting in 2010,” Mechel chief Alexey Ivanushkin said.
“The recent acquisition of Moscow Coke and Gas Plant will further allow us to expand our sales markets, as the plant will use 1.5-2Mt of our coking coal.”
During the second quarter, Mechel produced 2.27Mt of coking coal and 1.81Mt of steaming coal for total quarter output of 4.08Mt. This compared to 4.01Mt in the first quarter.
Revenue for the first half was $1.93 billion with income from operations at $209 million.
“The second quarter of 2006 was very favourable for both mining and steel markets, generating improved financial and production results, thus offsetting the negative impact of the first quarter and allowing us to achieve our financial plans for the first half of 2006. We continued to successfully execute on our strategy of expanding our mining segment, increasing output and enjoying high profitability,” Ivanushkin said.
