ArcelorMittal reports first quarter 2019 results

2019-05-11

May, 9, 2019 - 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, today announced results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019.

1. Health and safety: LTIF rate of 1.14x in 1Q 2019

2. Operating income decreased to $0.8bn in 1Q 2019 as compared to $1.0bn in 4Q 2018 and $1.6bn in 1Q 2018

3. EBITDA of $1.7bn in 1Q 2019, 15.3% lower as compared to $2.0bn in 4Q 2018, primarily reflecting a negative price-cost effect; 1Q 2019 EBITDA down 34.2% YoY

4. Net income of $0.4bn in 1Q 2019

5. Steel shipments of 21.8Mt in 1Q 2019, up 7.9% vs. 4Q 2018 and up 2.2% vs. 1Q 2018

6. 1Q 2019 iron ore shipments of 13.8Mt (stable YoY), of which 9.2Mt shipped at market prices (+0.4% YoY)

7. Gross debt of $13.4bn as of March 31, 2019 as compared to $12.6bn as of December 31, 2018. Net debt increased to $11.2bn as of March 31, 2019 due to impact of IFRS 16 lease accounting ($1.2bn). Excluding IFRS 16 Leases impact, net debt would be $10.0bn as of March 31, 2019 as compared to $10.2bn as of December 31, 2018

8. Maintaining an investment grade credit rating through the cycle remains ArcelorMittal’s financial priority, with a target to reduce net debt to below $7bn (previous target of $6bn adjusted to reflect the impact of IFRS 16)

Commenting, Mr. Lakshmi N. Mittal, ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO, said:

"Our first quarter results reflect the challenging operating environment the industry has faced in recent months. Profitability has been impacted by lower steel pricing due to weaker economic activity and continued global overcapacity, as well as rising raw material costs as a result of supply-side developments in Brazil.

"We continue to face a challenge from high levels of imports, particularly in Europe, where safeguard measures introduced by the European Commission have not been fully effective. Although we are somewhat encouraged by the firmer price environment in China, this is not being reflected in Europe where in order to adapt to the current market environment we have recently announced annualized production cuts of three million tonnes in our flat steel operations. It is important there is a level playing field to address unfair competition, and this includes a green border adjustment to ensure that imports into Europe face the same carbon costs as producers in Europe.

"We remain focussed on our own initiatives to improve performance through delivery of our Action2020 plan. Generating positive free cash flow, demonstrating progress in our efforts to further strengthen our balance sheet and improve shareholder returns are the priority.”