ArcelorMittal net income falls 6% to USD 929 mn in Sept qtr

New Delhi: Steel giant ArcelorMittal on Thursday posted 6.44 per cent fall in net income to USD 929 million during third quarter, mainly on account of decrease in steel shipments.

Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal follows January-December as fiscal year.

In July-September 2022, it had clocked a net income of USD 993 million, the company said in a statement. ArcelorMittal recorded a net income of USD 1,860 million in 2Q 2023, the statement said.

"3Q 2023 was impacted by a negative price-cost effect and a -3.7 per cent sequential decrease in steel shipments to 13.7 MT... resulting in a decline in operating income to USD 1.2 billion in 3Q 2023 over USD 1.9 billion in 2Q 2023, and USD 1.7 billion in Q3 2022," it said.

During the quarter, the company's crude steel production rose to 15.2 million tonne (MT) from 14.9 MT in July-September a year ago.

Sales in 3Q 2023 were at USD 16.6 billion as against USD 19 billion in 3Q 2022, primarily due to lower average steel selling prices.

Total steel shipments in third quarter were 3.7 per cent lower at 13.7 MT as compared with 14.2 MT in April-June 2023, reflecting lower shipments in NAFTA region and Europe shipments. Total steel shipments in 3Q 2023 were 0.8 per cent higher as compared with 13.6 MT in 3Q 2022.

Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal Chief Executive Officer, said: "On October 28, 2023, we suffered a catastrophic accident at the Kostenko coal mine in Kazakhstan that took the lives of 46 colleagues. We mourn their passing and deeply regret the devastation caused to the families of the victims.

"We are doing everything in our power to support them, and our communities at this difficult time. The only course of action is to ensure that we take a hard look inside our group, identify the gaps that exist and strengthen our safety actions, processes and culture to ensure that we prevent all serious accidents."

The company is getting a comprehensive independent third party safety audit, the key recommendations of which will be published in due course, he added.

AMNS India, the company's joint venture with Nippon Steel, produced 1.9 MT crude steel in July-September 2023 as compared to 1.7 MT in 3Q 2022 (which had been impacted by planned maintenance).

Steel shipments in 3Q 2023 rose to 1.9 MT from to 1.6 MT in the third quarter in 2022.

"AMNS India EBITDA during 3Q 2023 of USD 533 million was 5.3 per cent lower as compared to USD 563 million in 2Q 2023, primarily due to lower average steel selling prices offset in part by higher steel shipments and lower costs. 3Q 2023 EBITDA was higher as compared to USD 204 million in 3Q 2022, due to higher steel shipments and lower costs including the gain from the unwinding of a natural gas hedge," AreclorMittal said.