The world's largest steelmaker Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year 2012.
In the fourth quarter, ArcelorMittal registered a net loss of $3.99 billion compared to a net loss of $1 billion in the same quarter of 2011. The company's sales in the fourth quarter this year decreased to $19.3 billion, down 14 percent year on year. ArcelorMittal's EBITDA decreased to $1.32 billion, compared to $1.71 billion in the same period of 2011.
During 2012, ArcelorMittal reported a net loss of $3.72 billion, including the impairment charge of $4.3 billion from its European steel business. The company also reported a $1.3 billion write-down related to plant closures. The company's sales in the given period decreased to $84.2 billion, down 10.4 percent year on year. ArcelorMittal's EBITDA decreased to $7.08 billion, compared to $10.1 billion in 2011.
ArcelorMittal's crude steel production amounted to 20.8 million mt in the fourth quarter, down 4.14 percent year on year, while the crude steel output of the company for the full year decreased by 4.02 percent year on year to 88.2 million mt.
Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal's Flat Carbon Europe segment reported an operating loss of €2.21 billion for the fourth quarter which includes restructuring costs but excludes interest and tax costs. The operating loss for the full year was €2.85 billion. The Flat Carbon Europe segment's steel shipments for the fourth quarter increased to 6 million mt, rising by 2.1 percent quarter on quarter, due to a mild pick-up following the seasonally weaker summer period. However, a four percent decrease was recorded in steel shipments for 2012 to 26 million mt, compared to the previous year.
Regarding the 2013 outlook, ArcelorMittal expects its EBITDA to register a year-on-year increase, while steel shipments are expected to increase by approximately 2-3 percent year on year. With the ArcelorMittal Mines Canada expansion to 24 million mt per year on track for ramp-up during the first half of 2013, market-priced iron ore shipments are expected to increase by approximately 20 percent in 2013, compared to the previous year. The steelmaker expects to spend approximately $3.5 billion on capital expenditures and to reduce net debt to approximately $17 billion by June 30, 2013.
