Metals & Mining

Steel

The European iron and steel industry has yet to return utilisation rates back to pre-crisis levels, with challenging market conditions expected to prevail in the coming years:

  • Continuous fluctuation in commodities, dominated by global momentum
  • Risk of excess capacities in China if demand slows

New strategies must be developed to sustainably create value:

  • Client value: innovation, short supply chain, local services, etc
  • Asset reconfiguration: new technologies, energy efficiency and organisational efficiency
  • Upstream integration
  • Allocation of investments: effectiveness of maintenance investments in mature regions and growth in emerging sectors

Aluminium

The aluminium sector has changed enormously over the past decade:

  • Driven by China, capacities have doubled, placing traditional Western manufacturers at a disadvantage
  • Ongoing divestment of major downstream transformation companies
  • Exhaustion of competitive energy resources
  • Challenge of composite materials in the aerospace industry, i.e. the traditional user of high value-added aluminium

Successful companies will be able to create value by capitalising on the many opportunities that may present themselves in the coming years:

  • In emerging economies: new generation of low-cost electrolysis, paving the way for targeted growth investments in emerging energy-rich geographic regions
  • In mature economies:
    – Continued cost-reduction efforts, which are increasingly difficult to achieve
    – Innovation and development of new aluminium solutions: transport, construction, packaging etc.

Mining, Metals, Minerals

Ultimately, the leaders of these industries must focus their efforts on:

  • Organic growth opportunities and acquisitions
  • Technological innovation (increasing the value of extracted minerals)
  • Operational performance: capex management, purchasing/procurement, SG&A, supply chain, pricing policy, sales efficiency