ArcelorMittal Swung to 2Q Profit; Raises Steel Outlook
July 29 2021 - 1:51AM
Dow Jones News
By Ed Frankl
ArcelorMittal said Thursday that it swung to a second-quarter
profit that beat expectations as demand recovered with the lifting
of pandemic-related restrictions.
The steel-and-mining company made a net profit of 4.01 billion
euros ($4.75 billion) for the three months to the end of June
compared with a loss of EUR559 million for the same period of last
year, and a profit of EUR2.29 billion for the first quarter of
2021.
The net profit figure was well above analysts' estimates of
EUR3.10 billion, polled by FactSet.
Sales nearly doubled to EUR19.34 billion as steel selling prices
rose and it boosted shipments, ArcelorMittal said.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization--one of the company's preferred metrics--rose to
EUR5.05 billion from EUR707 million last year, in its strongest
quarter since 2008, the company said.
The Luxembourg-based company raised its outlook on global
apparent steel consumption growth in 2021 from 2020 to 7.5% to 8.5%
compared with a previous growth estimate of 4.5% to 5.5%.
ArcelorMittal said it would increase its 2021 capital
expenditure to EUR3.2 billion from EUR2.9 billion to reflect higher
volumes and the company's operating plan, which has changed due to
increased demand.
The company launched a new EUR2.2 billion share-buyback program,
fast-tracking EUR1 billion of its 2022 capital return by the end of
2021, and returning EUR1.2 billion from the redeemed Cleveland
Cliffs preference shares. ArcelorMittal completed a sale of
ArcelorMittal USA to Cleveland Cliffs in December 2020.
Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 29, 2021 01:50 ET (05:50 GMT)
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