Public Joint Stock Company "Novolipetsk Steel" (LSE:NLMK) is considering all options with respect to its U.S. assets, including not ruling out M&A deals as well as an exit from this market, Chief Executive Officer Grigory Fedorishin said on a conference call for analysts on February 3, 2022. "I'll answer in the same vein as I have for the last several years. We are open and looking at all opportunities, including both M&A deals and exiting projects.

The U.S. case is now being looked at as part of broad strategic discussions, and that applies to all divisions," he said. The company plans to provide more detailed information during the presentation of the new strategy, which is scheduled for early 2023. At the same time, management must now take into account not only protective duties of 25% (Section 232) effective in the American market, but also new requirements related to decarbonization and changes in the US market related to consumption, the Chief Executive Officer said.

Responding to a question regarding possible new sanctions, Fedorishin said that NLMK has a detailed plan, with no point in providing more detailed information at the moment. "We have a fairly detailed plan in case of sanctions. Sanctions risks are unfortunately nothing new for us, and we update our plans on a regular basis," he said.