Liberty Ostrava reports record Q1 results despite group financier's collapse

摘要

London—Liberty Ostrava, the Czech Republic’s largest steelmaker, broke recent production records during the first quarter, despite the March collapse of Greensill Capital, financier to its owner Liberty Steel Group. Market sources had expected output to be impacted by a potential withdrawal of raw materials supplies to the 3.6 million mt/year capacity integrated works amid fears of payment delays. Q1 shipments exceeded 550,000 mt of steel products, with monthly production in January and March exceeding 200,000 mt, the highest monthly levels since 2016, Liberty Ostrava said in an April 14 statement. Production for the quarter was almost 20% higher than same period in 2020 and more than 70% higher than Q2 2020, which was impacted by COVID-19, it said.