Interpipe sales volume drops 6% in 2019

Pipe sales volume at Ukraine’s largest producer Interpipe
(INTHOL) was 597.1 kt in 2019, a 10.6% yoy drop, according to the company’s
December operational report released on Jan. 15. Railway product sales rose
7.0% yoy to 202.1 kt, while external billet sales gained 22.8% yoy to 23.7 kt.
Total sales volume dropped 6.1% yoy to 823.0 kt.

The yoy decrease in pipe sales volume during 2019 was
driven by OCTG pipes (-26.8% yoy to 175.9 kt) and line pipes (-6.0% to 281.0
kt), partially offset by welded pipes (+5.1% to 111.4 kt) and mechanical pipes
(+25.6% yoy to 28.8 kt).

The increase in railway product sales was driven
mostly by wheel sales, which rose 5.3% yoy to 180.7 kt. CIS countries comprised
45% of railway product sales during 2019, followed by Europe (26%) and Ukraine
(22%).

In December, pipe sales jumped 36.3% m/m to 53.3 kt,
driven by OCTG pipes (+113.1% m/m to 21.1 kt). However, production of pipes
dropped 21.8% m/m in December to 32.1 kt.

Railway product sales rose 6.5% m/m to 18.2 kt in December,
while production inched up 3.9% m/m to 19.6 kt.

Dmytro Khoroshun: Interpipe’s railway wheel production remains stable and close to
maximum capacity, with strong demand in the CIS region supporting sales
volumes. However, pipe markets remain weak, as evidenced by Interpipe’s low
December production volumes.