Boston, MA 08/05/2014 (wallstreetpr) – ArcelorMittal SA (ADR) (NYSE:MT), a steel bellwether with nearly $24 billion in market cap, reported 2Q22014 results that exceeded the like quarter last year. The company also announced the continuation of its selective divestment as it seeks to streamline and exit non-performing operations. The organization realignment that the company announced in January this year also showed it was bearing fruits as the latest results improved from last year’s.
2Q in digits
The company announced its net income in the latest quarter managed to reach $52 million, suggesting $0.03 per share. That compared favorably with a net loss of $0.8 million or $0.44 per share in the corresponding quarter last year. The improvement could be traced to increased efficiency in the company and better margins in the quarter. Improved shipments of steel and iron ore particularly played an important role in boosting revenue in 2Q.
Narrow debt
Following the strong quarter, ArcelorMittal SA (ADR) (NYSE:MT) said it managed to narrow its long-term debt to $18.1 billion as of the end of June 2014, compared to $18.9 billion that was there in the form of long-term debt as of the end of June 2013. However, while the company reported debt pay down, its cash and cash equivalent decline from last year’s same quarter to $4.4 billion against $6.9 billion.
The continued divestment of non-core assets saw ArcelorMittal SA (ADR) (NYSE:MT) unload its 78 percent stake in ATIC Services S.A. (ATIC), a port handling and logistics company, for nearly 155.4 million euros or $212 million.
ArcelorMittal expects the strong demand for steel to remain, especially in Europe where it forecast growth in the range of 3-4 percent for full-year 2014. It is also optimistic about China where it expects stability in the country’s economy to lead to growth in demand for steel in the range of 3-3.5 percent.
Finally, ArcelorMittal SA (ADR) (NYSE:MT) guided 2014 Ebitda of more than $7 billion, but less than $8 billion that it originally expected.
