On April 8th in the Palace of Culture of Metallurgists the meeting of shareholders took place, at which the results of the work of Zaporizhstal JSC in 2008 were discussed.
The administration of the Works and Supervisory Board of Zaporizhstal JSC addressed the shareholders.
The Chairman of the Board of Zaporizhstal JSC Vitaliy Antonovich Satskiy emphasized in his report that in spite of difficulties metallurgy experienced in 2008, the production plan was fulfilled as to all the types of basic products. The production amounted to the following: pig iron — 3 283,7 thousand t; steel — 3 942,6 thousand t; rolled products — 3 253,8 thousand t.
Commercial products sales amounted to 12,3 billions UAH, which is 232,6 mln UAH more than planned and 3,1 billion UAH exceeding the level of last year. This is caused in many respects due to increase of the rolled metal products prices during the first seven months of 2008. In 2008 the Works obtained 47,7 mln UAH of net profit minus taxes. The Works paid off all the payments into the budget and into non-budgetary funds in full and in due time. In 2008 taxes and fees amounted to 797,5 mln UAH.
In spite of the essential negative influence of the world financial and economic crisis, Zaporizhstal JSC continues to retain a quantity of workplaces and the level of wages.
The average number of employees of the Works in 2008 equaled to 20 076 people, the average monthly wages of one employee of the Works is at the level of 3158,43 UAH. Wages are paid in due time.
In 2008, as in the previous years, the Works conducted work on the improvement of the technological processes and the technical reequipping of the fixed assets. The installation of the air aspiration unit from the discharging parts of the sintering machines has been put into commercial operation. This has made it possible to decrease emissions into atmosphere by 2,5 thousand t per year in 2008, to improve working conditions and to increase the reliability of the work of equipment.
The works, stipulated by the second commissioning of the complex of capital repair with modernization of blast furnace no. 2 on the facilities of power economy continued. The boiler and the turbo generator of capacity 35 MW were put into commercial operation, which made it possible to produce additionally 80 mln kW/hour of electric power in 2008, and also to eliminate the losses of blast-furnace gas on the bleeder.
The construction of the pulverized coal injection plant is being carried out. This will make it possible to decrease the expenditure of dry skip coke, and also to completely eliminate the use of expensive natural gas in the technology of iron smelting, which will lower in general the consumption of natural gas at the Works by 40-45%. Commissioning is planned by the end of 2009.
Design works were carried out and preparation of the construction site for the construction of oxygen-converter shop was conducted. Technical negotiations with the companies supplying equipment are completed and a contract for the delivery of equipment for the converter shop has been signed. A number of reconstructions and repairs in the main shops of the Works were carried out. In 2008 862,1 mln UAH were spent on the fulfillment of the current and capital repairs, reconstruction, modernization and capital construction.
As in the previous years, the Works paid considerable attention to social development, to the material encouragement of the employees of the Works and to rendering financial aid. 182,9 mln. UAH were spent on these purposes in 2008.
The meeting confirmed the report of the Chairman of the Board of the Works, and also the reports of the Auditing Committee and Supervisory Board. The shareholders elected Alexander Yuliusovich Putnoki, Alexander Ivanovich Rabtsun and Anatoliy Vasilyevich Beleush Deputy Chairmen of the Management Board and Yuriy Mikhaylovich Kozakevich was elected Deputy Head of the Auditing Committee.
According to the decision of the meeting of shareholders the following fundamental tasks were set for the Works in 2009:
– to organize production at the level of the indices reached in 2008;
– to optimize the structure of the sales markets;
– to preserve professional personnel and the number of workplaces, the level of wages and social guarantees;
– to optimize the structure of expenditures, to improve the quality of the products and to expand the range of sold products;
– to provide further realization of the technical reequipping of the Works by introducing energy-saving technology.
In this connection a decision was taken at the meeting to transfer the dividend payment period for 2006 to March 2011.
In spite of the complicated economic situation, caused by the influence of the world financial and economic crisis, Zaporizhstal JSC applies maximum efforts, directed towards improvement of the economic job performance, continues the execution of the program of technical reequipping and carries out social policy, foreseen by the collective agreement.