Romania’s metallurgical sector is undergoing a restructuring process, with financially stronger companies maintaining or expanding operations while vulnerable producers leave the market amid falling turnover and rising competitive pressures, according to an analysis by restructuring firm CITR based on 285 companies.
The sector’s combined turnover declined by more than RON 5 billion between 2023 and 2025, from RON 23.8 billion to RON 18.3 billion, according to CITR, as reported by Bursa.ro. The decline was mainly driven by difficulties among large primary steel producers, whose turnover fell by about one-third from RON 7.5 billion in 2023 to RON 2.6 billion in 2025, alongside the exit of smaller companies.
“The data tells a story about selection, against the backdrop of declining overall figures. The major opportunity of the context is the European reconfiguration, which puts pressure on the sector and also opens a window of strategic demand for it,” said Paul-Dieter Cîrlănaru, Chief Executive Officer of CITR.
CITR said the overall decline does not indicate a broad-based crisis, but rather a shift in market structure. Around 17% of companies active in 2024 no longer reported turnover in 2025, while the 222 companies that reported results consistently throughout the three-year period increased their combined turnover by 3%, or RON 523 million, between 2024 and 2025.
The analysis indicates that pressure on primary steel production, caused by high energy costs and competition from imports, is favouring segments with higher added value. The tubes, pipes and profiles segment exceeded primary ferrous production in turnover in 2025, reaching RON 6.25 billion, compared with RON 5.59 billion for primary production, and was the only major segment to maintain continuous growth.
Aluminium metallurgy also expanded by 8% in 2025 to RON 5.57 billion. CITR noted that aluminium and processed products companies have lower leverage compared with primary steel producers, with a debt-to-turnover ratio of 0.55x versus 1.31x for primary production.
Cîrlănaru said European industrial reconfiguration and available defence-related investment programmes could create opportunities for companies able to adapt to changing market conditions. “The difference between the companies that will catch it and those that will be left out is decided now, in the balance sheet, not in two years, in court,” he said.
iulian@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Giovanni Gagliardi/Dreamstime.com)
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