ArcelorMittal Profit Beat Forecasts as Steel Market Improves

A rolling mill at the ArcelorMittal SA Ghent steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, on Thursday, March 17, 2022. While the European Union discusses massive borrowing to finance energy projects that would help wean the bloc off its dependence on Russian gas, ArcelorMittal European Chief Executive Officer Geert Van Poelvoorde said using hydrogen to decarbonize the Ghent plant -- which produces 3.6% of the EU's steel -- would require "massive energy" with four gigawatts of power capacity.

(Bloomberg) -- ArcelorMittal SA, the world's top steelmaker outside of China, said first-quarter profit rose as rebounding demand lifted steel prices.

The steelmaker's business in Europe — where the firm has the lion's share of its capacity — showed a marked improvement as customers started to replenish stockpiles built after Russia invaded Ukraine. That suggests manufacturers and construction companies in the region may be holding up reasonably well after being hammered last year by the energy crisis.

“Market conditions improved as anticipated in the first quarter, with the end of customer destocking supporting apparent steel consumption growth and a rebound in steel spreads,” Chief Executive Officer Aditya Mittal said Thursday in a statement. “We expect a further increase in profitability in the second quarter.”

ArcelorMittal said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization climbed to $1.82 billion in the first quarter, beating the analyst consensus. The company will repurchase as many as 85 million shares through May 2025, depending on the amount of free cash flow it generates.

Steel shipments climbed more than 14% from the previous quarter, driven by gains in North America and Europe, the company said. ArcelorMittal's forecast for growth in apparent consumption of steel outside of China — a key barometer of the world economy — was left unchanged at 2% to 3% in 2023.

Still, weak Chinese metals demand and further monetary tightening in the US and Europe both present risks to the outlook.

(Updates with share buyback in fourth paragraph)

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