US Steel plans to invest in a plant in Kosice

US Steel is satisfied with its Slovak plant and is considering new investments to improve the competitiveness of the Kosice steel plant, rather than selling the division.

“US Steel is the largest employer in Kosice and one of the largest in Slovakia and is an absolutely stable partner in this country,” said Slovak Prime Minister for Investment and Informatization Richard Rasi after meeting in Pittsburgh on Wednesday with US Steel senior management.

The parties also talked about US steel tariffs and agreed that they have little effect on US Steel Kosice as the Slovak plant sells the vast majority of its steel elsewhere. The steel plant in Kosice spent one of the best years in 2017 in terms of financial and operational performance.

US Steel executives have not raised any concerns about Kosice's carbon, electricity and labor costs, and Rasi said the Slovak government will support key employers in the country.

China's Hesteel (Hegang) reported extensively in early 2017 that it had signed a memorandum of understanding to buy US Steel Kosice, although none of the US steelmakers and its Slovak subsidiary have ever confirmed this.

Talk of US Steel potentially selling its Kosice plant has persisted since 2013, when the American manufacturer originally planned to leave its Slovak subsidiary. Instead, he agreed with the Slovak government to receive annual incentives, including energy concessions, worth up to € 15 million (US $ 17.7 million) over 15 years in exchange for the remaining owner of Kosice.

At the same time, US Steel Kosice sales rose 2% year-on-year in the first quarter to 1.3 million tonnes net, after a 2% increase in 2017 to 4.59 million tonnes. Net sales rose 32% last year to $ 2.97 billion.