OREANDA-NEWS. February 7, 2008. According to the year-end results for 2007, Belon Group improved its key performance indicators. The total coal production at the Company’s mines increased by 37% against the respective figures of the preceding year, and amounted to 4,655,000 tons.

Belon attained significant growth in the steam coal sector. In 2007, production of steam coal amounted to 2,652,000 tons. This exceeds the respective 2006 index by 60%. Such increase was made possible due to the large-scale modernization of the Listvyazhnaya mine. As compared to 2006, production of metallurgical coal in the reporting period increased by 16%—up to 2,003,000 tons.

According to Konstantin Lagutin, the First Deputy Director General of OAO Belon, the production growth rate reached by the Company in the previous year proved to be the highest in the Kuzbass coal industry.
 
The volume of coal preparation at the Belovskaya central coal preparation plant in 2007 amounted to 4,327,000 tons of metallurgical coal. The Company produced 3,053,000 tons of metallurgical coal concentrate.

In addition, in 2007 Belon completed the construction of the Listvyazhnaya coal preparation plant, which operates in the sector of steam coal preparation. In the reporting period, the plant prepared 625,000 tons of raw coal, and produced over 500,000 tons of steam coal concentrate.

In addition, the Company demonstrated significant improvements in the other core business activities—steel trading and production of construction materials. During the year, the Company sold 314,000 tons of steel mill products, thus exceeding the indices of 2006 by 11%. The volume of brick production amounted to 33,022,000 bricks.

Rapid buildup of production volumes is ensured by Belon Group's plan to significantly increase the coal output. In accordance with the Company's development strategy, by 2012 it is expected to produce 14–15 mln tons of coal per year. Belon’s plans for the current year include 1.5-fold output increase as compared to the respective index of 2007, and production of at least 7 mln tons of metallurgical and steam coal.