OREANDA-NEWS. Over 6M2007, Azovstal < AZST UZ USD1.015 Accumulate > reported a 47% y/y revenue increase with 13% y/y output growth, which is the highest rate among Ukraine's steel blue chips. EBITDA grew by 124% y/y and EBITDA margin improved to 21.4%, strengthening AZST's position as the most efficient steel producer in Ukraine after Arcelor Mittal Kryvyi Rih .

According to experts of Millennium Capital, a financial services provider, since the beginning of the year AZST average rolled output sales price grew by 20% and it is expected to stay at the current level till the end of 2007. "We expect the steelworks to maintain its exciting performance in the third quarter as well as over the whole year. We update our valuation to capture the current financials improvement and advance our target price to USD1.368, which implies a 35% upside. We maintain therefore our Accumulate recommendation," the experts conclude.