NOSTA Metallurgical Plant Increases Production over 2002

NOSTA (the Orsk-Khalilov Metallurgical Plant, Orenburg Region) increased its production of hot-rolled metal by 11% in 2002 to 2,149,000 tonnes, and its production of cast iron by 12% to 2,001,000 tonnes. The plant's management told the Agency for Conflicting Situations that last year saw an increase in production volumes for all the plant's main products. Production of rolled sections, sheet metal, cast iron, coke by-products, and agglomerate rose throughout 2002. The production of rolled metal in the fourth quarter of last year more than doubled in comparison to the same period of 2001.

According to Vyacheslav Krylov, the head of the company, 'we were almost 100% successful in achieving what we had planned - above all in pulling the plant out of the crisis it had been in since spring 2001. The enterprise is now profitable and has a ready supply of working capital.'

NOSTA has the fifth largest sales volume of Russian producers of ferrous metal products. The plant's products are bought by machine-building, shipbuilding, and pipeline companies, as well as by industries requiring steel with unique properties. The plant was the fourth largest Russian producer of sheet steel in the second half of 2002.

Since the middle of 2001 the plant has been under external management, a situation which was extended for another year at the end of 2002. 50% of NOSTA's shares are controlled by structures belonging to Gazinvestholding general director Alisher Usmanov, and 50% are controlled by structures belonging to Russian Aluminium general director Oleg Deripaska.

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