Russia’s MMK says cuts production costs by $135 mln in 2015

MOSCOW, Feb 25 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) group of companies has cut its production costs by U.S. $135 million in 2015 due to implementation of programs that increase efficiency of operations, MMK said in a statement Thursday.

As a result, the cost of sales the company’s production fell by about 3%, MMK said.

The company also developed programs to cut production costs in 2016, and it is implementing them.

MMK plans to develop energy-saving initiatives, introduce automated systems to improve the composition of the coal charge, iron ore, and steelmaking formulas, and to optimize procurement of raw materials and ferroalloys. The company’s goal is to cut costs by 2-3% per year, which will strengthen MMK’s “competitive edge on the metals market,” the company quoted its CEO Pavel Shilyayev as saying.

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