ArcelorMittal reports first quarter 2013 results

arcelormittal-logoLuxembourg, May 10, 2013 – ArcelorMittal (referred to as “ArcelorMittal” or the “Company”) (MT (New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Luxembourg), MTS (Madrid)), the world’s leading integrated steel and mining company, today announced results for the three month period ended March 31, 2013.

On January 1, 2013, in accordance with IFRS as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”), ArcelorMittal mandatorily adopted IFRS 10 (“Consolidated Financial Statements”), IFRS 11 (“Joint Arrangements”), IFRS 12 (“Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities”), IFRS 13 (“Fair Value Measurement”), the revision of IAS 19 (“Employee Benefits”) and IFRIC 20 (“Stripping Costs in the Production Phase of a Surface Mine”). 2012 information has been adjusted retrospectively for the adoption of these new standards and interpretations except for IFRS 13 which is applied only prospectively.

mr-lakshmi-mittal

Highlights:

  • Health and safety performance improved in 1Q 2013 with a LTIF rate of 0.9x as compared to 1.1x at 4Q 2012
  • EBITDA of $1.6 billion in 1Q 2013 as compared to $1.6 billion in 4Q 2012 (which included $0.5 billion of gains from asset disposal and CO2 credit sales)
  • Steel shipments of 20.9 Mt, an increase of 4.7% as compared to 4Q 2012
  • 13.1 Mt own iron ore production; 7.3 Mt shipped and reported at market prices vs. 6.8 Mt in 1Q 2012
  • Net debt decreased by $3.8 billion during 1Q 2013 to $18.0 billion as of March 31, 2013 due largely to proceeds from combined offering ($4 billion) and proceeds from the first tranche of AMMC 15% stake sale ($0.8 billion), partially offset by working capital investment ($0.5 billion)
  • Liquidity improved to $18 billion from $14.5 billion at end 4Q 2012; average debt maturity of 6.0 years
  • $0.2 billion New Management Gains achieved during 1Q 2013, from implementation of the new plan to achieve $3 billion of improvement by the end of 2015

Outlook and guidance:

  • The Company reiterates its guidance framework for 2013: Assuming that in 2013 iron ore prices and the margin of steel prices over raw material costs are similar to the levels of 2012, the Company expects to report EBITDA above $7.1 billion
  • The anticipated improvement in underlying profitability in 2013 is expected to be driven by three factors: a) a 2% increase in steel shipments; b) an approximate 20% increase in marketable iron ore shipments; and c) the realized benefits from Asset Optimization and Management Gains initiatives
  • EBITDA in 2Q 2013 is expected to be above 1Q 2013 levels. Together with an anticipated release of working capital and receipt of previously announced disposal proceeds, this should support a further reduction in net debt to approximately $17 billion by end June 2013
  • 2013 capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $3.5 billion

Financial highlights (on the basis of IFRS):

Quarterly comparison
(USDm) unless otherwise shown 1Q 13 4Q 12 3Q 12 2Q 12 1Q 12
Sales 19,752 19,309 19,723 22,478 22,703
EBITDA 1,565 1,557 1,445 2,559 2,118
Operating income / (loss) 404 (4,711) 55 1,207 804
Net (loss) / income (345) (3,808) (652) 1,016 92
Basic (loss) / earnings per share (USD) (0.21) (2.47) (0.42) 0.66 0.06
Continuing operations
Own iron ore production (Mt) 13.1 14.0 14.3 14.4 13.2
Iron ore shipments at market price (Mt) 7.3 6.6 7.1 8.2 6.8
Crude steel production (Mt) 22.4 20.8 21.9 22.8 22.8
Steel shipments (Mt) 20.9 20.0 19.9 21.7 22.2
EBITDA/tonne (USD/t) 75 78 73 118 95

Mr. Lakshmi N. Mittal, Chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, commented:

“Economic conditions remain challenging but our performance in the quarter reflects the results of the management action we have taken to confront the effects of the financial crisis.  We have significantly reduced our net debt and the steps we have taken to focus production on our more competitive assets are beginning to yield results.

“We continue to prioritise our key franchise businesses.  These include automotive, where our market leading high strength steels are highly valued by our customers; and mining, where the ramp up of ArcelorMittal Mines Canada remains on track for the first half of the year.”