ArcelorMittal profits fall, steelmaker warns of production cuts

BY ANDREA HOLECEK, Times of Northwest Indiana
holecek@nwitimes.com

ArcelorMittal reported third quarter profits of $3.8 billion on Wednesday -- a figure that was about $2 billion less than the $5.8 billion for the previous quarter -- and warned fourth quarter results will be far lower

The London-based company predicted fourth quarter EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) will drop to between $1.5 billion and $3 billion, down from $8.6 billion in the third quarter as the steel company cuts production by 30 percent to deal with falling demand.

"We have announced today strong results for the quarter," said Lakshmi Mittal, the company's chairman and CEO. "....Looking forward, we have also announced necessary and responsible measures to ensure we are well adapted to the current environment.

"Our focus remains on cost-leadership and service to customers," Mittal said in a statement. "The current period of de-stocking requires that we make appropriate production cuts to seek to rebalance supply and demand, and we are also accelerating efforts to pay down debt."

The world's largest steelmaker shipped 25.6 million metric tons of steel in the third quarter, a decline of 4.2 million metric tons from second quarter, and a drop of 400,000 tons from the third quarter 2007.

The company's Flat Carbon Americas division, including plant in Indiana Harbor, Burns Harbor and Riverdale, has shipments of 6.9 million metric tonnes for the third quarter, a 500,000 metric ton drop from the previous period. The division's sales for the recent quarter were $8.5 billion, billion higher than the previous quarter, but its operating income fell to $600 million in the period from $1.4 billion for the quarter ending June 30.