ArcelorMittal boosts profitability

Luxembourg-based steel producer ArcelorMittal achieved a net income of nearly $1.1 billion in the first quarter of this year, representing a significant rebound after netting just $260 million in the prior quarter.

“Market conditions improved as anticipated in the first quarter, with the end of customer destocking supporting apparent steel consumption growth and a rebound in steel spreads,” ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal says.

“This, alongside better general economic sentiment, resulted in good growth in first quarter profits as well as higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization  (EBITDA) per ton. The improvements we have seen in market conditions are not yet fully reflected in our results due to pricing lags, and we expect a further increase in profitability in the second quarter.”

While ArcelorMittal experienced improved results compared with the prior quarter, its shipment and sales numbers in the first quarter of 2023 were below those from one year ago.

The firm’s 14.5 million metric tons of total steel shipments in the quarter just completed were 5.8 percent lower as compared with the 15.3 million metric tons shipped in the first quarter of 2022.

The company’s production in Ukraine has not rebounded fully after the Russian invasion of that country, and its overall European shipment were down 7 percent year-on-year.

In the USMCA (United States, Mexico and Canada) region, however, ArcelorMittal shipped out 15.8 percent more steel in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the first three months of last year. In North America, ArcelorMittal cites in part “higher volumes of slabs sourced” for its mill in Calvert, Alabama, as one reason for the boost in activity, along with “higher steel shipments in Mexico.”

The company’s global sales figure of $18.5 billion in this year’s first quarter was up from the $16.9 billion in sales from the prior quarter but down 15.3 percent from $21.8 billion in sales one year ago. For the year-on-year decline, ArcelorMittal blames “lower average steel selling prices (down 13.3 percent) and lower steel shipments (down 5.8 percent).”

“The first quarter has unfolded as we expected. Geopolitical and economic uncertainty remains, but ArcelorMittal continues to demonstrate its ability to perform in all market conditions, which bodes well for the remainder of this year," Mittal says.