Markets for seamless stainless tubes and pipes remained very difficult, and a quick recovery looks less and less likely. The whole industry is suffering from overcapacities and still falling prices. The nickel price continued to decline, down to below USD 9’000 in November. It seems though that we are close to the bottom of the cycle.
Not surprisingly Centravis, too, is confronted with a lower order intake and consequently lower sales volumes. While we cannot change the markets, we put even more emphasis on improving our efficiency and productivity. The business transformation project started in September has been successfully launched, and significant potentials for further improvement have been detected. Eight modules have been defined for implementation in 2016, and major cost savings are expected from 2017 onwards.
We are proud to note that, during the quarter Centravis has been approved by Valmet, one of the largest EU industrial corporations, for supply of recovery boiler tubes; and has been included into Achilles FPAL (UK) & JQS (Norway & Denmark) registries.
Let us end this short report on a positive note: In November, Centravis took part in the biggest industry events – ADIPEC 2015 in Abu-Dhabi, Maastricht Stainless Steel World and Moscow MetalExpo. Our stands permanently attracted a lot of visitors, which once again confirms our distinguishing feature – a customer centric out-of the box approach in doing business. We are confident, therefore, that volumes will regain former levels once the present market situation is overcome.
We thank all our customers for their loyalty and trust!
Nikopol, November 30, 2015
Peter Kratz Chairman of the Board
Yuriy Atanasov Chief Executive Officer
