LONDON--ArcelorMittal (MT), the world's largest steelmaker by
volume and revenue, Wednesday said its net loss widened in the
fourth quarter from a year earlier, but said it expects its
steel-business profitability to pick up this year as conditions in
the steel market improve.
The company's earnings reflect the recent slowdown in European
steel consumption, which has inflicted pain on steelmakers and led
to closures of some operations.
ArcelorMittal said its net loss was $3.99 billion in the three
months to Dec. 31, up from a loss of $1 billion in the fourth
quarter of 2011.
Its net loss for the full year in 2012 was $3.73 billion,
compared with a net profit of $2.26 billion in 2011, and was the
company's first full-year net loss since it was formed in 2006.
"2012 was a very difficult year for the steel industry,
particularly in Europe where demand for steel feel a further 8.8%,"
said ArcelorMittal Chief Executive Lakshmi Mittal in a statement.
"Although we expect the challenges to continue in 2013, largely due
to the fragility of the European economy, we have recently seen
some more positive indicators, which combined with the measures we
have implemented to strengthen the business, are expected to
support an improvement in the profitability of our steel business
this year."
Fourth-quarter revenue fell nearly 14% to $19.31 billion from
$22.45 billion in the same period a year ago, while earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda--a
closely watched measure of operating performance--fell 22.8% to
$1.32 billion from $1.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. The
figure was in line with the $1.3 billion forecast by a company poll
of 24 analysts.
Over the full year in 2012, Ebitda fell 30% to $7.08 billion
from $10.12 billion a year earlier.
The steelmaker said it expects that as the economic situation in
Europe improves, its Ebitda for the whole of this year should be
higher than in 2012.
ArcelorMittal expects its capital expenditure to be about $3.5
billion this year, and to further reduce its net debt. The company
cut its net debt by $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter, to $21.8
billion, driven by improved cash flow from its operations.
Write to Francesca Freeman at francesca.freeman@dowjones.com
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