IUD to Invest EUR 40 mln in New Coke Battery

According to Konstantin Lytvinov, IUD Polska CEO, the Industrial Union of Donbas intends to invest EUR 40 mln to construct a new coke battery in Czestochowa, Poland. The battery is expected to produce 390 ths mt of coke annually. Andriy Gerus: We see the major reason for construction of the battery in Poland due to the lack of a coking coal in Ukraine. Thus, IUD will leverage its presence in Poland to import coke from Czestochowa to meet the needs of its metal plants, Alchevsk Iron & Steel (ALMK: BUY) and DMK Dzerzhinskogo Steel (DMKD: N/R) rather than expanding production at its main coke producer, Alchevsk Coke (ALKZ: HOLD), which is currently 90% loaded, in the mid-term.