ArcelorMittal S.A. (MT), a leading steel and mining corporation, announced a decline in its net income attributable to equity holders for the third quarter, with figures reaching $287 million, down from $929 million in the same period the previous year.
Earnings per common share saw a decline to $0.37 from $1.11 year-on-year. The company reported adjusted net income attributable to equity holders of $488 million or $0.63 per share, a decrease from last year's $929 million or $1.11 per share.
Expectations from analysts, as compiled by Thomson Reuters, had predicted earnings of $0.51 per share, noting these estimates typically exclude any special items. The company's EBITDA also saw a reduction, falling to $1.58 billion from last year's $2.15 billion.
Quarterly sales dropped to $15.20 billion, compared to $16.62 billion the previous year, slightly below analyst expectations of $15.25 billion. Crude steel production decreased to 14.8 million tonnes from 15.2 million tonnes, while total iron ore production declined to 10.1 million tonnes from 10.7 million tonnes in the prior year.
Looking towards the future, Aditya Mittal, CEO of ArcelorMittal, expressed optimism, stating, "The medium to long-term outlook for steel globally is positive. We are confident in ArcelorMittal's ability to leverage its unique geographical presence and strong R&D capabilities to satisfy stakeholder demands and produce advanced steels for people and the planet."
The company noted current market conditions are deemed unsustainable, primarily due to China's overproduction compared to demand, resulting in low domestic steel spreads and aggressive export behaviors.
ArcelorMittal anticipates that apparent demand across aggregate markets will exceed that of the same period last year in the second half.
