ArcelorMittal cuts profit outlook on weakening demand

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, on Thursday cut its 2013 core profit guidance on weaker-than-expected demand and lower-than-expected raw material prices.

It said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2013 would be more than $6.5 billion, versus a previous forecast to beat the $7.1 billion reported in 2012.

The group, which lost its investment grade credit rating last year, said that its net debt fell to $16.2 billion at the end of the second quarter but that this figure would rise to about $17 billion in the second half of 2013 because of investment in working capital and the payment of the annual dividend.

ArcelorMittal kept its medium-term net debt target of $15 billion.

The $500-billion-a-year steel industry, a gauge of the global economy, has been hit hard by a drop in demand from austerity-ravaged Europe and signs of slowing growth in China.

The group sees steel shipments rising between 1 and 2 per cent in 2013, driven by a 3 per cent rise of global steel consumption. The company believes all regions except Europe will demand more steel than in 2012.

ArcelorMittal, which sold around 45 per cent of its steel in Europe last year, said second-quarter EBITDA, or core profit, fell 33.5 per cent year-on-year to $1.70 billion, below the analysts' average forecast of $1.75 billion in a Reuters poll.

It reported a net loss of $0.78 billion for the April-June quarter on lower sales and margin though hopes things would be better in the second half of the year.

The company had clocked a net profit of $1.016 billion in the corresponding quarter a year ago, it said in a statement.

Sales dipped to $20.197 billion during the April-June quarter from $22.478 billion a year ago, mainly because of the subdued price and lower shipments.

The world's largest steel maker sold 21.3 million tonnes during the three-month period, marginally lower when compared with 21.7 million tonnes achieved a year ago, according to a company statement.

Foreign exchange and other net financing costs, up by $375 million over a year ago, $39 million impairment charges and $173 million restructuring charges also impacted the bottomline of the company.

"The operating environment in the first half continued to be challenging but we have delivered progress in a number of important areas...The second half should deliver a clear underlying improvement relative to the second half of 2012," Mr. Mittal said.

"The benefits of our restructuring efforts - particularly in Europe - are evident; strong cash-flow performance has enabled us to reduce net debt to below our mid-year target," he added.

During the first half, ArcelorMittal's net loss stood at $1.1 billion as compared to net income of $1.1 billion.

Total steel shipments for the January-June period were lower at 42.3 million tonnes compared to 43.9 million tonnes in the first of the last year.

"Sales for H1, 2013 decreased by 11.6 per cent to $39.9 billion as compared with $45.2 billion for H1, 2012, primarily due to lower average steel selling prices (6 per cent) and lower steel shipments (3.7 per cent)," the company said.

ArcelorMittal said underlying profitability of the firm was expected to improve in 2013, driven by a 1-2 per cent rise in steel shipments, an approximate 20 per cent increase in marketable iron ore shipments and the realised benefits from Asset Optimisation and Management Gains initiatives.

"Nevertheless, due largely to lower than forecast apparent demand and lower than anticipated raw material prices, the company now expects to report 2013 EBITDA greater than $6.5 billion," it said.

However, due to an expected investment in working capital and payment of the annual dividend, net debt of the company was expected to increase in H2, 2013 to approximately $17 billion.

It expects $3.7 billion capital expenditures for the current year.