Things haven’t been this bad in this industry since World War II. Polish companies in crisis

Things haven't been this bad in this industry since World War II. Polish companies in crisis

Production of steel products in Poland is falling year after year. Moreover, all of Europe is losing in this race to China.

– The crisis in the steel industry has been going on for the seventh quarter in a row – said Mirosław Motyka, president of the Steel Industry and Commerce Chamber, at the beginning of this year. The steel industry is struggling throughout Europe. This is another branch of the EU economy that is losing to China in the race for global supremacy. The reasons are high energy prices, EU regulations, climate goals and a decline in the demand for steel products caused, for example in Poland, by the lack of funds from the National Reconstruction Plan that could revive investments.

Prices for steel products are melting around the world. In Poland, production costs are rising, caused not only by inflation but also by wage pressure. Domestic production capacity has fallen to a dramatic level. Ideally, it should be 85 percent. And last year, domestic plants used their potential at only 60 percent.

The steel industry is unanimous in saying that things can’t get any worse. Representatives of the sector emphasize that currently, Poland produces as much steel as in the 1940s or 1950s, when the country was being rebuilt after World War II.

With such high production costs, the calculation is simple – it is more profitable to import steel products than to produce them locally.

Waiting for the revival

Europe has not been a significant exporter, but an importer of steel products from outside the EU for many years. Polish companies are appealing to the government to take them under its protection, since – unlike producers from outside Europe – the industry has to face a whole host of restrictions related to the EU’s climate policy. The government has not responded to these appeals so far, explaining that the situation may improve soon.

The hope remains the funds from the KPO, which the EU has already started paying out to Poland. They are to provide impetus for new rail, energy and road projects, in which steel products are essential.

Europe’s energy transformation alone will require enormous amounts of steel, for example to create more photovoltaic farms, windmills and other renewable energy sources.

An Indian, an American and a German

Our ranking is based on data for 2022, which has not yet been such a crisis year for the entire industry of manufacturers and sellers of metal products. The business intelligence agency Dun&Bradstreet helped us prepare this ranking. Although there is a lot of talk about the collapse and crisis in the industry, this ranking shows greater optimism.

Of the 50 largest players in the Polish metals industry, not a single company recorded a loss in 2022. All of them showed a profit. All of them, except for one, also increased their revenue year-on-year.

So who was on the podium?

First place was taken by ArcelorMittal Poland. It is the largest steel producer in Poland with a 50% share of the domestic market. The company is also the largest coke producer in Europe. In addition, it produces sections, rails, railway accessories, mining casings and flat products used by the automotive industry and manufacturers of household appliances. The Polish branch belongs to the ArcelorMittal concern based in Luxembourg. It is the world’s largest manufacturer of steel products for the automotive and construction sectors. The company is controlled by Lakshmi Mittal, an entrepreneur of Indian origin, who, with a fortune valued by the American Bloomberg at 20 billion dollars, is one of the 100 richest people in the world.

CMC Poland jumped to second place on the podium. The company is a national leader in the production of long products, including bars. The company’s most important asset remains the steel mill in Zawiercie, which dates back to the end of the 19th century. Today, it belongs to the American group Commercial Metals Company based in Irving, Texas. In addition to Polish plants, the Americans also have five other steel mills in the USA.

Thyssenkrupp Materials Poland landed just off the podium. It is the largest seller of steel products and plastics in Poland. The company is controlled by the German giant Thyssenkrupp AG with headquarters in Essen and Duisburg.

What other companies are on our list?

The largest producers and sellers of steel products

Place Company name Revenue 2022 Net profit 2022 Revenue growth 2021/22
1 ARCELORMITTAL POLAND S.A. 32 993 965 000 754 021 000 6 588 718 000
2 CMC POLAND SP Z O O 7 220 637 000 963 226 000 3,073,494,000
3 ARCELORMITTAL DISTRIBUTION SOLUTIONS POLAND SP Z O O 6 581 646 277 136 408 707 903 817 663
4 THYSSENKRUPP MATERIALS POLAND SA 5 664 896 599 425 741 245 1 613 473 580
5 CELSA HUTA OSTROWIEC SP Z O O 4,799,670,000 476 043 000 739 536 000
6 STEEL CONSORTIUM SA 3 738 293 000 186 544 000 531 537 000
7 COGNOR S.A. 3 634 616 000 576 015 000 836 249 000
8 BORYSZEW S.A. 2 913 692 000 14,828,000 995 967 000
9 ALUMETAL POLAND SP Z O O 2,744,650,000 227 241 000 958 454 000
10 STALPRODUKT S.A. 2,719,250,000 398 121 000 721 399 000
11 BOWIM SA 2 656 100 918 103 760 202 274 533 698
12 KĘTY GROUP SA 2,301,999,000 699 108 000 570 706 000
13 ARCELORMITTAL WARSAW SP Z O O 2,287,491,000 134 354 000 244 827 000
14 MARCEGAGLIA POLAND SP Z O O 2 083 889 515 80 858 459 312 498 038
15 NOVA TRADING S.A. 1 948 996 317 90 541 560 252 305 361
16 TESKO STEEL SP Z O O 1 897 652 695 47 344 323 359 487 942
17 MINING AND METTLERISTICS PLANTS BOLESŁAW SA 1 871 240 335 135 341 006 268 097 662
18 GRÄNGES KONIN SA 1,780,368,000 8,057,000 442 856 000
19 EUROPEAN STEEL GROUP SP Z O O 1 560 120 883 250 171 -785 861 318
20 INVESTA SP Z O O 1 444 185 798 80 120 199 122 255 201
21 STANCHEM SP Z O O CHEMICAL COMPANY 1 376 765 953 77 065 306 228 436 138
22 RE ALLOYS SP Z O O 1 304 865 717 38 310 174 435 155 889
23 MINT OF POLAND S.A. 1 277 593 000 29,528,000 15,791,000
24 STALPROFIL S.A. 1 247 616 000 64,915,000 207 397 000
25 MORIS SP Z O O 1 232 640 632 165 820 622 264 011 446
26 ALCHEMY S.A. 1 227 537 000 54,640,000 260 210 000
27 SERWISTAL SP Z O O 1 178 564 424 57 012 454 27 235 375
28 MOSTOSTAL SIEDLCE SP Z O O 1,157,255,000 34,898,000 535 810 000
29 TECHNICAL AND TRADE OFFICE BTH IMPORT STAL SP Z O O 1 115 399 533 159 993 185 158 403 533
thirty LOGSTOR INTERNATIONAL SP Z O O 1 052 148 562 71 693 036 402 948 922
31 HUTA ŁABĘDY SA 1 030 387 820 153 507 202 280 965 798
32 GONVARRI POLSKA SP Z O O 1,026,347,000 41,286,000 358 014 000
33 RBB STAL SP Z O O 975 663 611 5 176 526 56 228 747
34 MULTINDUSTRIES COMPANY DREMEX SP Z O O 963 423 228 112 088 408 393 631 062
35 METALL EXPRES SP Z O O 933 382 705 60 039 128 191 562 149
36 APERAM STAINLESS SERVICES & SOLUTIONS POLAND SP Z O O 914 656 208 6 024 047 88 426 439
37 MECALUX SP Z O O 885 253 037 41 065 512 185 154 922
38 SAMBUD SP Z O O 881 017 236 3 420 934 134 477 687
39 MANULI HYDRAULICS POLAND S.A. 874 866 205 39 346 202 210 286 577
40 VOESTALPINE STEEL SERVICE CENTER POLSKA SP Z O O 863 909 695 11 137 272 -37 013 685
41 ACERINOX POLAND SP Z O O 845 957 000 6,626,000 258 661 000
42 JOST POLSKA SP Z O O 821 485 547 19 802 047 135 353 765
43 METAL ROLLING MILL DZIEDZICE SA 814 079 000 23,234,000 91,320,000
44 FERRUM SA 805 696 000 8,728,000 277 558 000
45 SALZGITTER MANNESMANN STAHLHANDEL SP Z O O 798 366 692 26 942 722 93 732 633
46 MAGNA FORMPOL SP Z O O 761 625 192 19 808 805 165 646 493
47 THONI ALUTEC SP Z O O 746 786 730 61 301 144 227 442 020
48 DITH POLAND SP Z O O 739 395 503 6 300 123 466 298 051
49 OUTOKUMPU DISTRIBUTION POLSKA SP Z O O 708 035 000 11,284,000 147 723 000
50 HUTA BANKOWA SP Z O O 706 352 892 77 906 467 144 879 900

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