Operational Overview

Qatar Steel undertook some strategic restructuring initiatives in 2020 to face the market situation that followed the breakout of the pandemic, yet still registered a loss. The company 2021 performance improved significantly compared to 2020 performance, mainly due to:

• Selling prices improvement: selling prices improved by 31% compared to last year, due to increase in demand linked to a rebound in construction activity. Iron ore prices on the other hand remained volatile with a significant price hike noted during the early parts of the year, followed by recent lower trajectories.
• Focused marketing: while mothballing, the Group now focus on selling in more profitable domestic market on its restricted production capacity. Nevertheless, the Group also made few international sales on opportunistic grounds, due to better international prices
• Cost optimization: continue focus on its operational efficiencies, commercial excellence, and cost reduction and optimization plans across its business.

As previously described, 2021 has been characterized by great uncertainty and therefore by the need of great flexibility. Overall, Qatar Steel rebar sales in the domestic market dropped significantly in 2021 compared to 2020 because of the near completion of major infrastructure projects associated with the FIFA world cup, although a hangover on these projects, specifically in the residential and tourism sectors, has spurred a burst in activity in H1 2022, which is though expected to wind down in Q3 2022 and cease by October so as to limit impact on the logistics related to the preparation for FIFA world cup.

In 2021, export sales in the GCC Countries were almost constant, while they increased in other markets. In particular, Qatar Steel sold its billet and rebar to SEA, Asia, and Far East markets. For figures, please refer to the following tables:

Qatar Steel FZE- Sales Data

Qatar Steel Mesaieed- Sales Data (KMT)

Total Sales Volume for All Products (QS Mesaieed + QS FZE) KMT