Vyksa Steel Works Reports Its Operating Results for Q1 2008

Vyksa Steel Works has reported its operating results for March and the first quarter of 2008.

VSW produced 134,946 tn of pipes of various grades in March and 361,565 tn from the beginning of the year.

VSW manufactured 67,257 tn of large-diameter pipes (LDP) in March. LDP output in January–March was 176,677 tn, which is somewhat less than in the comparable period in 2007.

According to VSW Executive Director Vladimir Kochetkov, a certain reduction in pipe production resulted from lower demand in the Russian market of medium- and large-diameter pipes for oil and gas pipelines in the first quarter of 2008. It is expected that VSW will increase its LDP output in the second quarter owing to the launch of LDP deliveries under a number of large projects, including gas pipeline construction for the subsea part of Nord Stream, Bovanenkovo-Ukhta, and Central Asia-China.

The VSW Wheel Rolling Facility produced 72,640 railroad wheels in March 2008, or 1.5 times as many as in March 2007 (47,430 wheels). The total output for the first three months of 2008 reached 213,640 wheels, which is 24% higher that in the equivalent period in the previous year (172,630 wheels).