ArcelorMittal reports third quarter 2019 results
by David Fleschen
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, announced results for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2019.
Highlights:
- Health and safety: LTIF rate of 1.36x in 3Q 2019 as compared to 1.26x in 2Q 2019; 1.24x in 9M 2019
- Operating income of $0.3bn in 3Q 2019 as compared to an operating loss of $0.2bn in 2Q 2019
- EBITDA of $1.1bn in 3Q 2019, 31.6% lower as compared to $1.6bn in 2Q 2019, primarily reflecting the impact of seasonally lower steel shipments and negative price-cost effect on the steel business, and the impact of lower marketable iron ore shipments (-14.7%) and lower iron ore quality premia[3] on the mining segment results
- Net loss of $0.5bn in 3Q 2019 as compared to net loss of $0.4bn in 2Q 2019
- Steel shipments of 20.2Mt in 3Q 2019, 7.3% below 2Q 2019 on a comparable basis (i.e excluding scope effect of remedy assets) largely reflecting seasonality
- 3Q 2019 iron ore shipments of 14.6Mt (+2.7% YoY), of which 8.4Mt shipped at market prices (-1.5% YoY)
- Gross debt of $14.3bn as of September 30, 2019, as compared to $13.8bn as of June 30, 2019. Net debt increased by $0.5bn during the quarter to $10.7bn as of September 30, 2019, primarily driven by negative free cash flow due in part to a seasonal working capital investment ($0.2bn)
Financial highlights (on the basis of IFRS[1]):
| (USDm) unless otherwise shown | 3Q 19 | 2Q 19 | 3Q 18 | 9M 19 | 9M 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 16,634 | 19,279 | 18,522 | 55,101 | 57,706 |
| Operating income/(loss) | 297 | (158) | 1,567 | 908 | 5,497 |
| Net (loss)/income attributable to equity holders of the parent | (539) | (447) | 899 | (572) | 3,956 |
| Basic (loss)/earnings per common share (US$) | (0.53) | (0.44) | 0.89 | (0.56) | 3.89 |
| Operating income/(loss) / tonne (US$/t) | 15 | (7) | 76 | 14 | 86 |
| EBITDA | 1,063 | 1,555 | 2,729 | 4,270 | 8,314 |
| EBITDA/ tonne (US$/t) | 53 | 68 | 133 | 66 | 131 |
| Steel-only EBITDA/ tonne (US$/t) | 34 | 43 | 119 | 45 | 116 |
| Crude steel production (Mt) | 22.2 | 23.8 | 23.3 | 70.1 | 69.8 |
| Steel shipments (Mt) | 20.2 | 22.8 | 20.5 | 64.8 | 63.6 |
| Own iron ore production (Mt) | 13.6 | 14.6 | 14.5 | 42.3 | 43.5 |
| Iron ore shipped at market price (Mt) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 8.5 | 27.5 | 27.7 |
Commenting, Mr. Lakshmi N. Mittal, ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO, said:
"As anticipated, we continued to face tough market conditions in the third quarter, characterized by low steel prices coupled with high raw material costs. In these markets, we remain focused on our own initiatives to improve performance and our priority is to reduce costs, adapt production and focus on ensuring the business remains cash flow positive. We continue to expect a substantial working capital release in the fourth quarter which should enable us to further reduce net debt year on year.”
Source: ArcelorMIttal, Photo: Fotolia