PARIS-- ArcelorMittal SA has warned investors that it will miss
its profitability target this year after it turned in a
wider-than-expected first-quarter net loss amid tumbling steel
prices.
The Luxembourg-based steelmaker, the world's largest producer by
shipments, said on Thursday that U.S. customers have run down steel
inventories amid growing competition from Chinese and Russian steel
exports, contributing to a world-wide steel glut.
The company, responsible for some 6% of global steel output and
a major producer of iron ore, now expects its earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization within a range of
between $6 billion and $7 billion. The company previously expected
Ebitda to end the year within between $6.5 billion and $7 billion.
ArcelorMittal's Ebitda was $7.24 billion last year.
The steelmaker said its net loss in the three months to end
March widened to $728 million from $205 million in the same quarter
last year on a 13% fall in revenue to $17.12 billion. The profit
figure missed analysts" expectations for a net loss of around $380
million.
"We faced a number of headwinds in the first quarter, including
a declining iron-ore price, a stronger dollar and surge of imports
in the U.S.," said Lakshmi Mittal, ArcelorMittal's Chairman and
Chief Executive.
ArcelorMittal said its average EBITDA per metric ton of steel
produced fell to $59 in the first quarter from $75 in the previous
three months and $63 from the same period last year.
The company reaffirmed its expectations to lower net debt to $15
billion over the medium term after reporting net debt of $16.6
billion at March 31, down from $18.5 billion on the same day a year
ago.
-Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
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