NLMK, the Novolipetsky Metallur­gical Plant, entered into association with Societe Wallonne de Gestionet de Participations (SOGEPA), which was one of the investors in the company’s European division. The two companies’ synergy traces its origins to 2008, when the Russian company established a joint venture in association with Duferco. Two years ago, pig iron, rolled products, and steel production assets were separated from the joint venture. SOGEPA purchased a 20.5-percent stake in NLMK’s Belgian division at the price of 91.1 million euros. NLMK Belgium Holdings comprises the group’s entire marketing and production operations, except for the separate entity NLMSK Danse- teel.

The Russian NLMK group is among the three largest ferrous metallur­gy enterprises in the country. The company’s output is at nine million tons of steel annually. Beyond Rus­sia, NLMK’s chief production fa­cilities are situated in the European Union and the United States. The company’s majority shareholder is Fletcher Holdings, which is controlled by the group’s chairman Vladimir Li­sin. Fletcher Holdings’s stake in the company is 85.91 percent. Another percent stake belongs to top- level company managers. The com­pany’s free float percentage is 11.29.

Under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the company’s net profit in the first quarter of 2013 decreased nearly five times to USD35,404,000 from USD173,628,000, where it had been in the first quarter of 2012. The com­pany’s revenues saw a 7.69-percent decline to a level of USD2.856 bil­lion. In the corresponding period of the previous year, revenues were at USD3.094 billion. Revenues de­creased by 7.69, coming down to USD2.856 billion from USD3.094 bil­lion where they had been in the cor­responding period of the previous year. The company’s operating profit decreased from USD255,071,000 to USD110,833,000. The EBITDA went down some 26.39 percent from USD432,000,000 to end at USD318,000,000.

As for NLMK’s performance in the first half of 2013, in line with Russian accounting standards, the group’s profit decreased 42 percent from RUR14.047 billion to RUR8.147 bil­lion. During the same period, the company experienced an 8.54-per­cent decline in revenues from RUR 123.042 billion to RUR112.531 bil­lion. The company’s profits from sales contracted some 2.34 times, shrinking to RUR2.896 billion from RUR6.763. The group’s profits be­fore taxes were down 49.98 percent from RUR15.965 billion to RUR7.985 billion.