Ukrainian steel maker Azovstal said on Friday raw steel production rose to 476,400 tonnes in March from 435,200 tonnes in February. The company said in a statement pig iron output rose to 406,100 tonnes from 373,000 tonnes, and rolled steel production was 451,100 tonnes from 400,100. Azovstal produced 1.398 million tonnes of raw steel, 1.191 million of pig iron and 1.311 million of rolled steel in the first three months in 2010.
Azovstal is majority owned by System Capital Management, part of the business empire of Rinat Akhmetov. In 2009 the company cut steel output by 15.7 percent to 4.643 million tonnes from 5.510 million in 2008.