The world's largest steelmaker Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal has announced its financial results for the second quarter and the first half of the current year, stating that it has had to lower its guidance for 2013 due to weaker than expected demand and lower than expected raw material prices. Accordingly, ArcelorMittal now expects an EBITDA of more than $6.5 billion, instead of the previous forecast of more than $7.1 billion.
In the second quarter, ArcelorMittal reported a net loss of $780 million, compared to a net profit of $1.01 billion in the second quarter of the previous year. In the given quarter, ArcelorMittal's sales decreased by 10.14 percent year on year to $20.2 billion. The company's EBITDA was $1.7 billion, down 33.5 percent year on year.
In the first six months, ArcelorMittal saw a net loss of $1.12 billion, compared to net profit of $1.1 billion in the first half of the previous year. During the first half this year, the company's sales amounted to $39.9 billion, down 11.6 percent year on year due to lower average steel selling prices and lower steel shipments.
ArcelorMittal's crude steel production amounted to 22.5 million mt in the second quarter, down 1.31 percent year on year, while its iron ore production decreased by 1.08 percent to 18.2 million mt, compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. In the first half of the year, the company produced 44.9 million mt of crude steel and 33.6 million mt of iron ore, down 1.53 percent and up by a slight margin of 0.6 percent respectively, both year on year.
Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal's Flat Carbon Europe segment reported an operating loss of €151 million for the second quarter, excluding interest and tax costs. The Flat Carbon Europe segment's steel shipments for the given quarter increased to 7.1 million mt, rising by 2.6 percent quarter on quarter, benefiting from the restart of furnaces at Asturias and Dunkerque. ArcelorMittal stated that its Flat Carbon Europe segment saw a noticeable improvement in its results despite the continued drop in European steel demand, adding that, despite steel demand in Europe beginning to stabilize, the situation in some key markets such as automotive and construction remains difficult.