IFL ferrochrome sales still sliding

20th May 2009 09:58

Ferrochrome producer International Ferro Metals (IFL) said it remains focused on preserving cash and cutting costs as it reported falling sales for the alloy used to make stainless steel.IFL, which produces ferrochrome in South Africa, sold 10,484 tonnes in the three months to March 31, compared with 21,410 over the prior quarter and 56,905 tonnes in the first quarter of 2008.The firm, which only produced 1,168 tonnes of ferrochrome in the last quarter, compared with 31,289 in the prior period and 52,422 a year ago, said it would not resume production after July when the current programme of converting raw material inventory into ferrochrome is complete. IFL stopped furnace production in November.Demand remains very low, the company said, though it added that it had made some sales to China after the quarter end.Ferrochrome prices are down from $0.79 a pound in the March 2009 quarter to $0.69 a pound in the June quarter."The company continues to experience extremely low ferrochrome demand as steelmakers continue to suffer from the global economic fallout," the firm said. "There are signs of a bottoming out of the down cycle as global ferrochrome inventories decline, but prices have yet to firm to an attractive level and predicting the timing of the recovery is difficult."