The market for long products across Europe – particularly in Italy and Germany – is not sending signals for a rebound in September, with 2024 set to be the year of recovery, Feralpi chief executive Giuseppe Pasini said during a press conference attended by Kallanish.

The executive noted the recovery is expected to happen possibly during the second half of 2024. During the first six months of this year, Feralpi registered sales volumes in line with 2022, while turnover declined some 20% year-on-year due to lower sales prices.

In terms of production, 2023 is expected to finish with similar levels as those registered in 2022. The group, across its mills in Italy and Germany, produced some 2.45 million tonnes of billet in 2022, down 6.4% y-o-y and in line with levels registered in 2020.

Going into more detail, Pasini noted that the Italian market is performing slightly better than the German one at the moment. He added that funds from the Next Generation EU plan assigned to Italy should support the civil engineering sector during the next three years.

Overall, Feralpi registered an unprecedentedly positive financial year in 2022. The group’s Ebitda surpassed €500 million ($553m), almost double that registered in 2021.