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ArcelorMittal takes £2.6bn write down on European business
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal said today it would write down the value of its European business by about $4.3bn (£2.6bn), as a weak European market hurt demand.
The world’s largest steelmaker said that steel demand in Europe had fallen by around eight per cent so far this year, marking a 29 per cent drop since 2007.
“This weaker demand environment, and expectations that it will persist over the near and medium term, led to a downward revision of cash flow expectations underlying the valuation of the European businesses to which goodwill has been allocated,” ArcelorMittal said today in a statement.
The write down will be taken as a non-cash impairment charge recorded in the final quarter of 2012.