ArcelorMittal Swung to Net Loss in 3Q

By Adriano Marchese

ArcelorMittal (MT.AE) said Thursday that it swung to net loss for the third quarter of 2019 compared with a year prior, blaming difficult market conditions with low steel prices and high raw material costs.

For the three-month period ended Sept. 30, net loss at the Luxembourg-based steelmaker was $539 million, compared with a profit of $899 million a year earlier.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization--a preferred metric by the company--was $1.06 billion, compared with $2.73 billion a year earlier. Analysts had forecast an Ebitda of $930 million according to a company-compiled consensus.

Sales in the quarter were $16.63 billion, down from $18.52 billion in the third quarter of 2018.

The company said that it now expects steel shipments to be stable in 2019 compared with 2018, which it revised from a previous guidance of an increase year-on-year.

"As anticipated, we continued to face tough market conditions in the third quarter, characterized by low steel prices coupled with high raw-material costs," Chairman and Chief Executive Lakshmi N. Mittal said.

Write to Adriano Marchese at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 07, 2019 01:43 ET (06:43 GMT)

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