ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) expected that its output would increase in the second half of this year after finishing the repair of the blast furnace in Newcastle.

In the first half of this year, AMSA’s crude steel output dropped by 30% to 1.1 million tons. The capacity utilization decreased by 17% compared to the same period of last year, reaching 42%. At the same time, the company’s sales dropped by 8% year on year to 1.2 million tons.

The decreasing utilization and production might be caused by low demand, interruption of rail service and labor, limited electricity supply, and floods in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province.

In terms of financial performance, the company's first-half earnings were R3.025 billion, increasing by 21.8% year on year.

AMSA is developing two 100MW renewable energy projects in Gauteng and Western Cape in order to create benefits by reducing costs.