The company cited a successful retooling program for its coal producing subsidiaries as the major driving force for the increase in coal output, which was also pushed up by the acquisition of the Yakutugol holding company in Russia's Far Eastern republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Vladimir Polin, Mechel CEO, said favorable prices for non-ferrous metals and a more effective use of production capacities at its nickel subsidiary in South Urals pushed Mechel's nickel output up.
Mechel, [NYSE: MTL], has several metal plants in Russia, Romania and Lithuania. It unites producers of coal, ore, nickel, steel, and highly-processed steel products for the domestic and foreign markets.
In 2006, the company's output totaled 17.01 mln metric tons of coal, 5.95 mln tons of steel, and 4.71 mln tons of rolled products.
Last December, Mechel reported a U.S. GAAP net income increase of 89.7%, year on year, in the first nine months of 2007 to $706 million.
