ArcelorMittal reports third quarter 2017 results

Luxembourg, November 10, 2017 – ArcelorMittal (referred to as “ArcelorMittal” or the “Company”) (MT (New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Luxembourg), MTS (Madrid)), the world’s leading integrated steel and mining company, today announced results[1] for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017.

Highlights:

• Health and safety: LTIF rate of 0.67x in 3Q 2017 as compared to 0.72x in 2Q 2017 and 0.84x in 3Q 2016
• Operating income of $1.2 billion in 3Q 2017 as compared to $1.4 billion in 2Q 2017; 2.5% higher YoY
• EBITDA of $1.9 billion in 3Q 2017 as compared to $2.1 billion in 2Q 2017; 1.5% higher YoY
• Net income of $1.2 billion in 3Q 2017 lower as compared to $1.3 billion in 2Q 2017 and higher as compared to $0.7 billion in 3Q 2016
• Steel shipments of 21.7Mt in 3Q 2017, an increase of 1.0% as compared to 2Q 2017; +6.8% YoY; steel shipments of 64.2Mt in 9M 2017, up 0.6% YoY
• 3Q 2017 iron ore shipments of 15Mt (+8.1% YoY), of which 9.1Mt shipped at market prices (+12.3% YoY); 9M 2017 market price iron ore shipments at 27.2Mt, up 6.8% YoY
• Net debt of $12.0 billion as of September 30, 2017, as compared to $11.9 billion as of June 30, 2017, primarily due to a negative foreign exchange impact ($0.2 billion)

Outlook and guidance:

Market conditions are favorable. The demand environment remains positive (as evidenced by the continued high readings from the ArcelorMittal weighted PMI) and steel spreads remain healthy.

The Company continues to expect cash needs of the business (capex ($2.9 billion), interest ($0.8 billion), cash taxes, pensions and other cash costs (totalling $0.9 billion) but excluding working capital investment and premiums paid to retire debt early) to be approximately $4.6 billion in 2017.

Given the improved market conditions, the Company now expects a full year 2017 investment in working capital of approximately $2.0 billion (as compared to previous guidance of approximately $1.5 billion).

Financial highlights (on the basis of IFRS[1]):

Commenting, Mr. Lakshmi N. Mittal, ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO, said:

 “Favorable market conditions have supported another solid quarterly performance, with EBITDA for the first nine months considerably improved year-on-year.  Operating conditions continue to improve, with key indicators including the ArcelorMittal weighted PMI implying a positive outlook for 2018.  While pleased with the progress that we are making, we operate in a competitive global environment which is characterized by overcapacity and high levels of imports.  The implementation of our strategic plan Action 2020 remains a clear priority and we are making good progress in this regard.”

[1]The financial information in this press release has been prepared consistently with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and as adopted by the European Union. The interim financial information included in this announcement has been also prepared in accordance with IFRS applicable to interim periods, however this announcement does not contain sufficient information to constitute an interim financial report as defined in International Accounting Standard 34, “Interim Financial Reporting”. The numbers in this press release have not been audited. The financial information and certain other information presented in a number of tables in this press release have been rounded to the nearest whole number or the nearest decimal. Therefore, the sum of the numbers in a column may not conform exactly to the total figure given for that column. In addition, certain percentages presented in the tables in this press release reflect calculations based upon the underlying information prior to rounding and, accordingly, may not conform exactly to the percentages that would be derived if the relevant calculations were based upon the rounded numbers. This press release also includes certain non-GAAP financial measures. ArcelorMittal presents EBITDA, and EBITDA/tonne, which are non-GAAP financial measures and defined in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations, as additional measurements to enhance the understanding of operating performance. ArcelorMittal believes such indicators are relevant to describe trends relating to cash generating activity and provides management and investors with additional information for comparison of the Company’s operating results to the operating results of other companies. ArcelorMittal also presents net debt as an additional measurement to enhance the understanding of its financial position, changes to its capital structure and its credit assessment. ArcelorMittal also presents free cash flow, which is a non-GAAP financial measure defined in Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cashflows, because it believes it is a useful supplemental measure for evaluating the strength of its cash generating capacity. Non-GAAP financial measures should be read in conjunction with and not as an alternative for, ArcelorMittal’s financial information prepared in accordance with IFRS. Such non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures applied by other companies.
[2]At the Extraordinary General Meeting held on May 10, 2017, the ArcelorMittal Shareholders approved a share consolidation based on a ratio 1:3, whereby every three current shares are consolidated into one share (with a change in the number of shares outstanding and the accounting par value per share). The figures presented for the basic and diluted earnings per share reflect this change.