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 |