Iranian Steel Exporter Boosts Shipments by 81%

Financial Tribune – Khouzestan Steel Company exported more than 1.22 million tons of steel products in the first five months of the current Iranian year (started March 21), registering an 81.4% increase compared to last year’s corresponding period, KSC’s exports manager said.

 “We have boosted our exports by 550,448 tons compared to last year,” KSC’s public relations also quoted Mohammad Hossein Emam as saying, adding that KSC has already beaten estimates and shipped 65% of the 1.88 million tons it exported in the last fiscal year (2016-17).

The steelmaker, located in the southwestern Khouzestan Province, exports to 13 countries. About 50% of the exports are shipped to the Middle East and North Africa region, 40% to the Far East and around 10% to Americas.

KSC produced over 1.55 million tons of slab, bloom and billet in the five-month period, according to company data.

Slabs made up 545,734 tons of the overall figure, as billets and blooms together accounted for 1.007 million. Sales revenue for the period stood at 25 trillion rials (over $649 million).

According to the company manager, Modarres Khiabani, the company’s profits in the last fiscal year jumped by over 300% to 6.7 trillion rials ($176.31 million) compared to the year before.

The sharp rise came as KSC became Iran’s biggest exporter of steel last year, overtaking Iran’s largest steelmaker Mobarakeh Steel Company. KSC shipped about 52% of its 3.6-million-ton output for the year and plans to increase its output capacity to 5 million tons a year within two years.

Khiabani believes KSC is on a fast track to growth, pointing to the company’s track record over the past four years.