Alchevsk Coke To Launch New Battery At The End Of June.

The plant started constant heating of one of the battery’s two blocks (Block A) on April 26. Putting the new battery into operation will increase the capacity of Alchevsk Coke (ALKZ: SELL) by 40%, from its current 2.5 mln mt to 3.5 mln mt per year and make it Ukraine’s second largest coke maker after Avdiyivka Coke. Concorde Capital: Alchevsk Coke is controlled by the Industrial Union of Donbas (IUD) which also controls Alchevsk Iron & Steel (ALMK: BUY) and DMK Dzerzhynskogo. Capacity build-up by Alchevsk Coke will allow Alchevsk Iron & Steel and DMK Dzerzhynskogo to fully meet their coke requirements. We also think that in the future Alchevsk Coke may be merged with Alchevsk Iron & Steel, similar to what happened last year with Markokhim and Azovstal.