Metinvest Group has announced a significant reduction in steel production for the first quarter of 2026, reporting a 20% decrease compared to the previous quarter, totaling 454,000 tons. The company attributes this decline primarily to unstable electricity supply during January and February.
Year-over-year, steel output fell by 7%. In contrast, pig iron production remained stable compared to the same period last year, although it decreased by 12% from the previous quarter, amounting to 438,000 tons.
In light of the reduced steel output, Metinvest also scaled back its production of semi-finished products, which reached 185,000 tons in the first quarter, marking a 32% decline from the last quarter.
Despite the challenges in the steelmaking sector, Metinvest increased its production of finished metal products. For January to March, production rose by 8% quarter-on-quarter and 11% year-over-year, reaching 660,000 tons.
Specifically, flat rolled products accounted for 292,000 tons, maintaining the previous quarter’s level but exceeding the output from the same period in 2025 by 12%. The company links this growth to the resumption of hot-rolled coil production at Ferriera Valsider and an uptick in orders for hot-rolled thick plates.
Production of long products also saw an 8% increase compared to the last quarter, totaling 349,000 tons, driven by contributions from Kametstal and the Bulgarian company Promet Steel.
Additionally, the report marks the first inclusion of pipe production from the Romanian facility Tubular Iasi, acquired by the group in December 2025, which has produced 19,000 tons of pipe products since the beginning of the year.
As previously reported, Metinvest, led by Rinat Akhmetov, paid UAH 4.3 billion in taxes and fees to various levels of government in Ukraine during the first quarter of 2026. Cumulatively, since the onset of the full-scale war, the group’s tax contributions have approached UAH 78 billion.
Metinvest Group's first-quarter report for 2026 reveals a 20% drop in steel production due to unstable electricity supply, while finished metal product output increased. The company continues to contribute significantly to Ukraine's economy through substantial tax payments.