Ukraine's UMCC Titanium boosts sales 40% in H1

MOSCOW. Aug 1 (Interfax) - UMCC Titanium, a Ukrainian miner and processor of titanium raw material, earned a net profit of UAH61.6 million (about $1.5 million at the current exchange rate) in the first half of 2024, Ukrainian media reported UMCC acting CEO Yegor Perelygin as saying on social media.

The company's EBITDA totaled UAH139.8 million in the half, as sales of finished product grew 39.1% year-on-year by value, he said. Sales of concentrates rose by 20,000 tonnes or 40% to almost 70,000 tonnes.

Perelygin said mining operations at the company's Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant (IMPP) were fully restored in the second half of this year and two mines are working steadily.

"We began the second half of the year very actively and energetically. I can say that, despite all problems, the Vilnohorsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant (VMMP) has decent prospects to work to 2030. There are enough reserves for the economically viable operation of the plant," Perelygin said.

As for further development beyond 2030, there are several options and scenarios, and UMCC is working on them, he said.

"Having an understanding of our commercial reserves, we see prospects for at least 15 years at capacity of 180,000-200,000 tonnes per year (after all reconstruction, this is actual design capacity of specifically final concentration, meaning final product). Also, don't forget that we also have the Selischansky area and an off-balance resource base," Perelygin said.

"I'll say frankly, we have a decent understanding of the future mining of the whole Irshansk resource base on a time horizon of 27 years at IMPP (and probably even more!) We are calmly moving ahead," Perelygin said.

Meanwhile, the CEO and co-owner of Ukrainian titanium feedstock producer Velta, Andrei Brodsky said on social media that his company mined 135,000 tonnes of ilmenite in all of 2023 and 48,350 tonnes in the first half of 2024.

He also wrote that UMCC produced 45,000 tonnes of ilmenite in 2023, but in the first quarter of 2024 its VMMP reduced ilmenite production by 40.8% to 4,891 tonnes while output at IMPP was flat at 1,524 tonnes.

"There are still no updated data for the first half, but it's clear to everyone that the second quarter was just like the first. According to the published information of UMCC head Yegor Perelygin, the Irshansk plant launched production of finished concentrate in 2023. And the company only launched mining at IMPP's two mines at the beginning of July. The mines had not operated since the fall of 2022," Brodsky said.

UMCC previously sold its products to more than 30 countries. Its main markets were the European Union, China, Turkey, the United States and countries in Africa. UMCC resumed shipping ilmenite contract to the European market last fall.

The official exchange rate was UAH41.03/$1 on July 31.