Kardemir, Turkey's Steel Giant to Pump $1 Billion into Expansion Plans by 2028

Turkey: Turkish long Steel producer, Kardemir, revealed its 2022 performance evaluation and future investment plans. The company has set a target to inject up to $1 billion into its operations between 2023 and 2028, with the goal of expanding high value-added product capacity and promoting exports.

In 2022, despite the maintenance work shutdown at blast furnaces No.1 and No.4, the company managed to produce a record-breaking 2.22 million mt of crude Steel and 2.14 million mt of finished products at blast furnace No.5. The company also experienced a significant increase in sales of beam, thick bar in coil, and railway wheel by nine percent, 41 percent, and 456 percent, respectively, throughout the year.

According to the latest report, the company's export income from sales made to the EU, the Balkans, North Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East in 2022 amounted to $45.5 million. In the year 2022, the company diversified its portfolio with the addition of 136 products that hold high value. These products primarily included high-strength bars in coils, engineering Steels, and specialty bars in coils.

According to the company chairman, the first half of the year saw increased demand resulting in positive profitability and cash flow. On the other hand, the global Steel industry suffered negative effects in the second half of the year due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which impacted demand and energy costs. Nevertheless, despite these unfavorable circumstances, the company's sales revenues grew by 85.5% compared to the previous year, reaching TRY 27.39 billion ($1.42 billion) in 2022.