ArcelorMittal Europe reports €328m Ebitda for first quarter of 2016

ArcelorMittal S.A. / ArcelorMittal Europe reports €328m Ebitda for first quarter of 2016 . Processed and transmitted by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

6 May 2016 - ArcelorMittal Europe has announced its results for the first quarter of 2016, reporting a 34% drop in Ebitda to €328m compared with Q4 2015, mainly due to a 7.2% decline in average steel selling prices for the first three months of 2016. Lower prices were however offset in part by higher steel shipment volumes and improved cost performance.

ArcelorMittal Europe reported an operating profit of €77m for the first three months of the year, compared with a €465m operating loss in the previous quarter. The fourth quarter 2015 performance was significantly impacted by impairments and inventory write-downs.  Comparing year-on-year, ArcelorMittal Europe reported an operating profit of €281m for the first quarter of 2015.

The Europe segment's crude steel production for Q1 2016 rose 11.9% to 11.2 million tonnes, compared with the previous three months. Sales also rose, by 0.6% to €6.5bn, driven by a 13.7% increase in demand for flat steel products and an overall 10.3% increase in steel shipments, compared with Q4 2015.

While steel spreads have improved since the start of 2016, price rises are not expected to be visible until the second quarter.

Commenting, Aditya Mittal, CEO ArcelorMittal Europe and CFO ArcelorMittal, said:

"Today we reported a 34% drop in Ebitda, which shows the impact of low steel prices on our business - although we were able to offset some of the effect of low prices thanks to our ongoing focus on cost performance.

Today's results also reflect improved demand for steel in Europe. Our shipments rose by more than 10% to 10.4 million tonnes in Q1 2016, compared with the final quarter of 2015. This stronger demand has led to a welcome improvement in steel spreads, in recent months - resulting in a tight market, for flat products in particular. However, the market remains highly volatile; we must remain vigilant against steel dumping in Europe, in order to ensure that steel is traded in line with WTO regulations."