ArcelorMittal Posts EBITDA Of $4.4 Billion For First Half Of 2012

ArcelorMittal reported Wednesday an EBITDA of $2.4 billion in the second quarter of this year (including positive $0.3 billion of gains on subsidiary divestments), compared to $2.0 billion in the first quarter of 2012 (including positive $0.2 billion from employee benefit changes.

The company said reported an EBITDA of $4.4 billion for the first half of 2012 as compared to $4.1 billion in the same period a year ago/

ArcelorMittal said that steel shipments were 21.7 Mt in the second quarter of 2012, a decrease of 2.5% as compared to the first quarter this year.

Second quarter 2012 iron ore production was 14.4 Mt, up +9.9% year-on-year; 8.2 Mt shipped and reported at market price, up +17.4% year-on-year.

The company said that net debt was reduced by $1.6 billion during the second quarter to $22.0 billion, driven by improved free cash flow from operations of $1.1 billion, Skyline Steel divestment proceeds of $0.7 billion and foreign exchange impacts.

Liquidity decreased marginally to $14.8 billion from $15.2 billion at end of the first quarter this year, with average debt maturity at 6.4 years, the company said.

Commenting, Mr. Lakshmi N. Mittal, Chairman and CEO, ArcelorMittal, said, that “Market conditions in the first half have been very challenging, indeed more challenging than we had expected due to a combination of factors, not least the still unresolved crisis in the eurozone. Against this backdrop the company has delivered a creditable performance, continuing to make progress on the divestment of non-core assets, and reducing net debt below the half year target. Although the global economy remains fragile, we expect operating conditions to remain broadly similar in the second half. Europe remains our biggest concern and the severity of the situation is reflected in the performance of our European operations. Our focus throughout the remainder of the year remains on further improving competitiveness and reducing debt.”