ArcelorMittal shares jump on profit boom
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal has seen its shares rise by over three per cent in early trading after the firm reported a jump in fourth quarter profits.
Company profits leapt 23 per cent in the fourth quarter, with earnings in 2014 expected to outstrip the previous year.
The world's largest steelmaker, which accounts for between six and seven per cent of global steel production, enjoyed a rise in fourth quarter earnings to $1.9bn (£1.1bn) compared with $1.5bn last year.
ArcelorMittal earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation beat analyst expectations, reaching $1.91bn in the quarter from $1.56bn the previous year.
In a drive to reduce costs the company has cut $5bn of debt over the past two years and closed facilities at Florange in France and Liege in Belgium.
The company, which is seen as a barometer for the health of global manufacturing, benefitted from a modest improvement in the European economy. However, consumption is set to slow in China and Brazil.
ArcelorMittal forecast a rise in global steel consumption of between 3.5 per cent and four per cent in 2014.
Chief executive officer, Lakshmi Mittal, said in the statement:
The measures we have implemented to strengthen the business continue to yield positive results. In 2013 we delivered a 11 per cent underlying increase in EBITDA, positive free cash flow and ended the year with net debt at the lowest level since the creation of ArcelorMittal in 2006.
