Arcontech Share Discussion Threads

[jdhurry] 06/10/2004 08:52

A bit closer now.

[waldron] 05/10/2004 15:36

LONDON, October 5 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Ibersecurities issue a "buy" rating on Arcelor (ARR.ETR). The target price is set to €17.20.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company's Chairman recently indicated a rise in steel prices during January 2005 due to higher raw material costs. The analysts expect steel prices to remain high through 1H05.

[waldron] 05/10/2004 05:19

SYDNEY (AFX) - Arcelor, the world's biggest steel maker, may stop supplying
some of its biggest customers unless they agree to hefty price increases due to
come into effect next year, the Financial Times reported, citing Chief Executive
Guy Dolle.
"This is not blackmail. It's a matter of economics," Dolle was quoted as
saying.
He said price rises of up to 20 pct for iron ore and at least 10 pct for
coking coal are putting "intense" pressure on steelmakers' costs, leaving the
group with little choice but to attempt to pass those costs on to customers.
Dolle has already announced he wants to raise the price of steel supplied
under contract to many of his company's larger customers by at least 20 pct from
January.
The report said contracts up for renewal by Arcelor in the next three months
cover roughly 20 pct of its expected 28 bln eur annual sales in 2004.
The Financial Times said as the largest player in the steel industry,
Arcelor occupies a benchmark role in setting prices which many rival companies
follow.
lmf/swp

[grupo] 04/10/2004 07:02

Arcelor May Raise Prices for a 5th Straight Quarter, Dolle Says
Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Arcelor SA, the world's biggest steelmaker, may raise prices for a fifth consecutive quarter in January to pass on rising raw materials costs.

Arcelor may boost spot prices for flat carbon steel, used in everything from cars to refrigerators, by an amount similar to its raise in the fourth quarter, or as much as 7 percent, Chief Executive Guy Dolle said in a phone interview. Prices for raw materials such as iron ore and coking coal have risen by about a fifth this year and will increase further, he said.

European steelmakers led by Luxembourg-based Arcelor have boosted prices four times since January this year, bolstered by record demand from China, the world's largest consumer of the steel. Arcelor's second-quarter earnings almost quadrupled to a record, after first-quarter profit jumped by more than a fifth.

``The first-half of next year will be good,'' said Dolle, who's led the company since it was created in a three-way merger in 2002. ``European demand is much better than last year, but not booming. We don't see any sign of weakness in China.''

Arcelor is also ``confident'' it can increase its annual contract prices by a fifth for next year, Dolle said. Contract sales represent about a quarter of Arcelor's total shipments. Its customers include Renault SA, France's No. 2 carmaker, London- based Rexam Plc, and Benton Harbor, Michigan-based Whirlpool Corp., the world's largest maker of appliances.

Stockholm-based Electrolux AB, the world's biggest maker of household appliances, last month said earnings will fall more than forecast this year because of surging steel costs. Maytag Corp., the No. 3 U.S. appliance maker, in July also cut its annual profit forecast because of higher steel prices.

Cheap Steel

``The days of cheap steel are not going to be with us for a few more years yet,'' said Peter Fish, managing director of Sheffield, U.K.-based industry consultant MEPS (International) Ltd. ``But the shortages that we're experiencing now won't be as acute next year, but it doesn't mean the over-supply situation will come back either.''

Dolle spoke before the start of the International Iron & Steel Institute's 38th annual conference in Istanbul yesterday.

Arcelor's shares have gained 11 percent this year, valuing the company at 9.5 billion euros ($11.7 billion). The 71-member Bloomberg World Iron/Steel Index has gained 10 percent over the same period.

Benchmark iron ore prices rose 19 percent to a record this year, while coking coal prices were about a fifth higher. Iron ore producers such as Rio Tinto Group, based in London, will be able to increase prices by 20 percent next year, Goldman Sachs JBWere Pty, a Melbourne-based brokerage, said last month.

Coking coal prices may be 60 percent higher next year, Hampshire, U.K.-based coal industry consultant McCloskey Group predicted in August.

Chinese Steel

China, the world's most-populous nation, raised its steel production by 21 percent in the first eight months of the year, adding an amount equal to the whole of South American supply in the same period, according to the Brussels-based International Iron & Steel Institute.

``I am much more concerned (about prices) for coking coal for next year than for iron ore,'' Dolle said. ``It's clear that as the demand from China is still increasing very fast, there will be some very important price increases for iron ore, but the key question will be coking coal.''

Global steel production will probably top 1 billion metric tons this year for the first time ever, increasing by 5.3 percent over 2003, according to MEPS. Demand will probably rise by another 3.4 percent next year, with China accounting for more than half the gain, the consultant predicted last month.

Steel Expansion

Arcelor is expanding production outside of Europe to tap into faster-growing demand in regions such as Asia and South America. The company plans to spend $3 billion in Brazil by 2010 on acquisitions and expanding existing operations, Chief Financial Officer Michel Wurth said in an interview last month.

``In the next 10 years, steel consumption will increase 40 percent, to 1.4 billion tons,'' Dolle said. ``More than 75 percent of this growth will be done in developing countries. Ifwe want to be more global, we have to be active in these countries.''

The world's steel industry will likely be led by as many as six producers by as early as 2010, each with annual production capacity of about 100 million tons, Dolle said. Arcelor produced 40.2 million tons of steel last year. Increased production will come from expanding existing plants, building new ones, acquisitions and joint ventures, he said.

Dolle denied speculation Arcelor is in talks to buy Gruppo Beltrame, a steelmaker based in Vicenza, Italy, with which it already has a venture making merchant bar steel.

The cost of insuring Arcelor debt using credit-default swaps has plunged in the past year, according to Morgan Stanley prices on Bloomberg. It costs 43,000 euros a year to cover 10 million euros of debt for five years, down from as much as 115,000 euros in October last year.

Arcelor was formed in 2002 from the merger of Usinor SA of France, Arbed SA of Luxembourg and Aceralia Corporacion Siderurgica SA of Spain.

[jdhurry] 30/9/2004 15:15

Watching from a distance.

[melchor] 21/9/2004 07:52

jdhurry

thanx for info.

I had scoured thru the ARC website, but couldn't find the rates ... obviously I'm a bit thick!

I agree that the bottom line has been raised, but we are talking now about a worldwide audience - albeit not immediately targetted. The Japan drive should have been in position now for weeks. We can expect update on this in interims announcement.

Sadly, they did not offer a schedule to attack the world market i.e. first Japan 'in the next month', but what about other countries? The deal with AIG is initially for three years, they can't take it too easy.

Subject to liquidity, I would buy at any point under 1.25p.; the placing was for 1.5p and the main director was happy to buy more at this price.

[jdhurry] 20/9/2004 19:36

melchor... oops! Must have typed an extra zero by mistake! Regarding income/fee per customer, the rates for Red24 and Red24Alert are on the website but they do cheaper rates for bulk, so I'm guessing it's a minimum £20 per annum per customer on average. So that's 3000 x £20 = £60,000 a month. In the recent television we're told ARC has been losing money since 1999 but expects to make a profit this year. If the are a good yardstick can't see how an extra £720,000 in turnover would bring them to profit once cost of sales and extra staff for Japan operation are pencilled in. Lucky to breakeven IMHO, unless there's another revenue stream. The Prelims also state the need to raise further capital over and above the £750k they got in January. As long as that's hanging over shareholders and potential shareholders heads I can't see this heading too far North in the short term. I'd definately buy a wad at 1p all the same. Otherwise I'll wait for the Interims to 30 September.

[melchor] 17/9/2004 16:16

30,000 a month? more like 3,000

In any case,I like them too.

What I can't find is what sort of income/fee is one customer?

[jdhurry] 17/9/2004 16:00

If they fall to 1p again I will buy 500K.

[jdhurry] 17/9/2004 15:58

Must say I like the look of this lot. If the present growth rate of 30,000 (edit: 3000)customers a month continues surely they will start making profits?

[very quick] 17/9/2004 14:48

just bought 100k at 1.22p offer now gone to 1.30p LOL?

[grupo guitarlumber] 13/9/2004 12:24

(recasts story to lead on comment on raw materials prices)
FRANKFURT (AFX) - ThyssenKrupp steel unit Stahl AG said it will take into
account developments in raw materials prices when it sets terms for new steel
contracts with major customers.
"The rising cost (of raw materials) will certainly be reflected in the
re-negotiation of our major contracts," a spokesman for Stahl said.
As announced last month, ThyssenKrupp is still planning to raise steel
prices by as much as 50 eur per tonne as of Oct 1 for certain specialised
steel products, he added.
The spokesman declined to comment directly on Stahl's pricing policies for
next year, however.
Luxembourg=based Arcelor - the world's biggest steel company - said earlier
today it plans to hike prices for some of its biggest customers by at least 20
pct early in 2005, partly on the rising cost of raw materials such as iron ore
and coke.
[e-mail]
ms/jfr

[waldron] 13/9/2004 09:09

FRANKFURT (AFX) - ThyssenKrupp steel unit Stahl AG declined to comment on
its planned pricing policies for next year, after Luxembourg steel group Arcelor
SA announced price hikes.
"The rising cost (of raw materials) will certainly be reflected in the
re-negotiation of our major contracts," a spokesman for Stahl said.
But as announced last month, ThyssenKrupp is still planning to raise steel
prices by as much as 50 eur per tonne as of October 1 for certain specialised
steel products, he added.
Arcelor, the world's biggest steel company, said earlier today it plans to
hike prices for some of its biggest customers by at least 20 pct early next
year, partly on the rising cost of raw materials such as iron ore and coke.
[e-mail]
ms/jfr

[maywillow] 10/9/2004 11:29

LONDON (AFX) - The UK Office of Fair Trading said it will refer the
completed acquisition by Arcelor SA of Corus group PLC's hot-rolled steel sheet
piling business to the Competition Commission.
[e-mail]
jc

[handycam] 06/9/2004 17:19

I still don't know what red24 does, exactly, but I should think these things wil go higher on balance. In a hot market, they could get a clear puff from some quarters and already my good man tells me that 10p is a firm target. Well, even if he is as much as half right arc would certainly be going on a bit and, of course, one should and would, sell immediately.

[waldron] 30/8/2004 18:56

LONDON, August 29 (New Ratings) - Analysts at Ibersecurities maintain their "buy" rating on Arcelor (ARR.ETR). The target price is set to €17.40.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that Arcelor, Nippon Steel and Baosteel have agreed to form an iron and steel joint-venture by March 2005. Based on the joint-venture agreement, a new production plant will be installed in Shanghai, with an expected annual production of 1.7 million tons, according to Ibersecurities.

[ariane] 28/8/2004 06:33

Global steel giants establish auto steel sheet JV in Shanghai

www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-28 08:56:21


SHANGHAI, Aug. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- A joint venture of the world's three steel giants, BaoSteel, Nippon Steel Corporation and Arcelor,was officially established here Friday to produce high-grade steelsheets for automobiles.

Located inside BaoSteel in Shanghai, the new company involves atotal investment of 6.5 billion yuan (783 million US dollars) and 3 billion yuan (361 million US dollars) of registered capital. BaoSteel contributed 50 percent of the capital, Nippon Steel 38 percent and Arcelor 12 percent.

The company has a designed production capacity of 1.7 million tons of high-grade steel sheet for automobiles, including 900,000 tons of cold-rolled sheets and 800,000 tons of galvanized sheets.

An official with the company said it intends to become the dominant auto steel sheet producer on the Chinese market. Its products would meet the requirements of all major joint venture automobile producers in China.

Full scale production will begin in June 2005, according to the company. Enditem

[grupo] 24/8/2004 08:09

ONDON, August 23 (New Ratings) - Analysts at Ibersecurities maintain their "buy" rating on Arcelor (ARR.ETR). The target price is set to €17.4.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that Arcelor's subsidiaries, CST and Belgo, have agreed to form a new joint venture with Sun Coal & Coke Company to establish a new coking plant. The plant, expected to start operations in July 2006, would require an investment of €300 million, the analysts believe.

[waldron] 19/8/2004 05:54

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) - BlueScope Steel Ltd expects to increase sales in China
and the rest of the Asia, seeing the region as the world's fastest growing steel
market, the Australian steel maker's chief executive Kirby Adams told a media
briefing.
Adams said the company, Australia's largest steel maker, already has 500
mln aud invested in downstream steel products across 12 countries in the region
and is spending a further 500 mln on expansion.
The expenditure includes a 280 mln aud flat steel coating and painting
facility in Suzhou Industrial Park in China's Jiangsu province, now under
construction, a new Vietnam coating and painting facility and second Thailand
coating line.
As well, Adams said BlueScope plans to grow its pre-engineered steel
building business in China following the recent acquisition of US group Butler
Manufacturing Co which is a market leader in China.
At present China accounts for less than 5 pct of BlueScope's annual sales
which totalled 5.77 bln aud in the year to June but Adams said he expects sales
in China to grow at a proportionally higher rate than those elsewhere.
Adams declined to forecast growth rates for Asian markets but he said
BlueScope would welcome a slow-down in China's economic growth rate as it will
reduce strain in the market.
"In regard to China, I welcome what is going on - if it can slow the growth
rate China will be stronger for longer and it will take take some of the
pressure off raw material prices," Adams said.
He said higher raw material costs are currently a challenge for BlueScope
but strong markets for steel products in Australia and overseas meant another
year of solid profits is expected.
BlueScope earlier reported net profit rose 29 pct in the year to June 2004
to a record 584 mln aud.
"2004 - was a pretty good run - for 2005 we are anticipating another good
year," Adams said.
He said the world's steel industry this decade is in the best shape it has
been for 30 years after restructuring and rationalization which has seen steel
plant closures.
As well, Adams said, most of the world's steel making capacity is now under
private ownership which means there is more focus on returns on capital
invested.
"The bottomline is the steel industry is in this decade unlike anything it
has experienced in at least 30 years. It is sustainable because of global
restructuring... and a much more rigorous commercial environment," Adams said.
Meanwhile, he said BlueScope's priority is to continue to lift returns to
shareholders and then grow the company.
Adams said BlueScope, listed 25 months ago after BHP Billiton spun off its
steel business, is continuing to deliver superior returns to shareholders.
He said it has returned over 800 mln aud to shareholders over 25 months
which represents one dollar a share on a listing price of 2.90.
Today it rewarded shareholders with a 0.10 aud a share special dividend on
top of a final dividend of 0.18 aud and announced plans to buyback about 2.5 pct
of its issued capital on market.
At 2.15 pm BlueScope shares were up 0.17 aud or 2.3 pct at 7.68 while the
S&P/ASX 200 was up 3.8 points or 0.1 pct 3,479.9.

(1 usd = 1.40 aud)
[e-mail]
blh/tr

[grupo guitarlumber] 17/8/2004 15:13

LONDON, August 17 (New Ratings) – Analyst Charles Spencer of Morgan Stanley downgrades Corus (BH8.FSE) from "overweight" to "equal-weight." The target price is set to 47p.


In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that Corus has witnessed a sharp share price rally so far this year, while outperforming the broader European steel sector trends. Morgan Stanley anticipates limited near-term upside potential, however, from the current valuations of the stocks in the steel industry, and expects the European paper stocks to outperform the steel sector going forward.