• Strong Q1 2021 results show further commercial and financial progress
• The company is forecasting and even stronger Q2
• Work continues on planning for transformational GREENSTEEL projects

LIBERTY Galati, the largest integrated steel producer in Romania, has reported a strong set of results for the first quarter of this year, building on the production improvements made in 2020. The plant has now raised its production target for 2021 and is accelerating the planning for the strategic projects required to transform the plant to carbon neutrality by 2030.

The company reported strong results for the quarter ending 31 March 2021 with turnover of RON 1.77 billion (EUR 359 million) and EBITDA of RON 256 million (EUR 52 million), the best quarterly results since 2008. This continued the positive progress from the second half of last year. For the year to 31 December 2020, LIBERTY Galati posted turnover of almost RON 4.7 Billion (EUR 1 billion) and EBITDA of RON 187 million (EUR 38 million).

The business is currently in the process of significantly increasing its production, achieving shipments of around 531KT in the first quarter of 2021. This compares to the almost 2 million tonnes shipped in 2020, achieved despite the first half of 2020 being impacted by the very challenging European steel market and exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw a number of key customers halt operations. Due to operational improvements and effectively managing its production, the plant did not have to cease operations – as many other European producers did – but continued to serve its customers until the market recovered in the second half of the year.

The management team is now accelerating the preparation of a range of projects to improve its existing infrastructure and the quality of its product portfolio as well as strategic initiatives which will support the plant’s transformation into a carbon neutral supplier of GREENSTEEL by 2030. These include the installation of two electric arc furnaces, a direct reduced iron plant, a hydrogen production plant and solar and wind renewable energy fields. These projects will be supported by a collaboration with Galati State University “Dunarea de Jos” and with the Romanian Institute to develop research projects which will increase the plant’s ability to use hydrogen technology in steel making.

Aida Nechifor, the General Director of LIBERTY Galaţi since 1 June 2021, said. “I am extremely proud of the results achieved by LIBERTY Galati, the LIBERTY Steel Group’s flagship in Europe for flat products. The focus, commitment and determination of our Galati colleagues have enabled the business to overcome the challenges of the last year and have ensured we could continue to serve our customers without interruption, even at the most difficult of times. We are very pleased that GFG Alliance remains committed to building a sustainable future for LIBERTY Galati so that our plant can continue to contribute to the economy of the region and to Romania for years to come. The results for the first quarter are the best we have seen for many years but we expect even better ones in the second quarter.”

Aida, who has worked at the plant for more than twenty years latterly as its Chief Financial Officer, is the first woman to lead the plant in its 55 year history as well as being the first woman to lead any major Romanian steel plant. Aida also has management responsibility for LIBERTY Skopje, a downstream site in North Macedonia.