Arcontech Share Discussion Threads

[warnock] 21/5/2004 12:55

It's a bi of a concern that two of the four explosions in Instanbul were at HSBC buildings, doesn't say alot for the RED 24 system.

[saddam bin laden] 21/5/2004 12:50

A 10% drop with no reported sells. MM playing on a tree shake or could they be aware of some news?

I think it's about time we were giving a progress statement.

[saddam bin laden] 21/5/2004 12:49

A 10% drop with no reported sells. MM playing on a tree shake or could they be aware of some news?

I think it's about time we were giving a progress statement.

[rcktmn] 18/5/2004 08:31

Last year results were published 31st JULY (ARC yr end is 31/03). So I reckon results will be released a little earlier this year, maybe end of June, due to better news and ARC is more established now. (DOYR).. should be worth the wait..but then again...:)

[base97] 17/5/2004 20:03

Evening All(Not Many I Think)! I realise that this Company is still if you like, "bedding in" BUT what I cannot understand is the ALMOST total lack of news(there needs to be something at certain intervals), I know this point will be defended but it is, at the moment,"sleepy"! The media is not aware of ARC, the shares are illiquid and in short I ask, do we exist and if so, what are we going to do to whip up interest? Your views would be very much appreciated. Rgds. & Good Luck.

[one_atoo] 17/5/2004 19:27

as the interims were announced in November 2003 i would have thought that we are due the announcement of the finals.

when are the finals due to be reported? CEO please respond.

[rcktmn] 08/5/2004 16:02

Last year was the very end of July,

[base97] 07/5/2004 20:05

Does any "ARC-angel" know when results may be due? TIA Rgds.

[johnwwwilkinson] 07/5/2004 12:18

Sell in May & go away Ariane? Bon vacances mes amis! (apologies for the rusty French);->

[ariane] 07/5/2004 12:02

The French Connection will be abroad until 12th May 2004

Merci Monsieur jwww

[johnwwwilkinson] 07/5/2004 11:10

Arcelor 1st-Quarter Profit Probably Rose on Higher Steel Prices
May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Arcelor SA, the world's largest steelmaker, may say Monday that first-quarter earnings rose 8 percent as steel prices at the highest level since 1995 made up for a surge in raw-material costs spurred by China's expansion.

Profit probably climbed to 208 million euros ($253 million) from 192 million euros, based on the median estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Luxembourg-based Arcelor boosted prices for flat carbon steel, used to make cars and appliances, by 7 percent in January and 8 percent last month.

Arcelor may find it more difficult to raise prices again as China tries to cool its economy, said investors including Cesar Perez in London. The government last week clamped down on lending to some industries, including steel. Chinese steel demand may grow 13 percent this year, down from 25 percent in 2003, the International Iron and Steel Institute in Brussels estimates.

``The key issue here is the sustainability of prices going higher,'' said Perez, who manages a $400 million fund that has been selling Arcelor shares at M&G Group Plc. ``One of the big question marks is China.''

Chinese steelmakers including Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. are still adding capacity, after increasing output by a fifth last year to 220 million metric tons. Perez's fund has been buying shares in Acerinox SA of Spain, the world's third-largest maker of stainless steel, where China has been slower to expand.

Rising Costs

Arcelor, and European rivals ThyssenKrupp AG and Corus Group Plc, want to raise steel prices next quarter to cover costs of iron ore and coking coal that have jumped about a fifth this year. Global steel production this year probably will exceed 1 billion tons for the first time, according to the steel institute.

Arcelor makes most of its steel in Europe, where it employs about four-fifths of its workforce and gets three-quarters of sales. Chief Executive Guy Dolle, 61, is investing in countries including Brazil, where production costs are about a fifth lower. Arcelor has 500 million euros a year to spend on ``external growth,'' Dolle said in March.

``In the medium term, they need to get more production assets outside Europe, in lower-cost locations,'' said James Ravine, a credit analyst at Barclays Capital in London. ``If the investment is half a billion this year, that's comfortably manageable within the context of the cash flow we expect them to generate.''

Arcelor's price increases don't all show up as profit. More than half of the company's flat carbon steel is shipped on multiyear contracts. Unless Arcelor can boost prices on shorter contracts, rising costs may narrow margins, UBS AG said in a note last week.

``We would like to understand how the group intends to deal with this strategy going forward,'' analysts Michael Shillaker, Emmanuel Androulakis and Michael Cook said in the note.

Debt

Arcelor's debt probably fell to 4.1 billion euros in the quarter from 4.46 billion euros three months earlier after the company paid off bonds before they matured, UBS said. It rates the shares ``Buy 1.''

The company said in February it planned to cut debt by at least 500 million euros this year, after slashing it by 1.5 billion euros in 2003. Arcelor's debt is rated BBB by Standard & Poor's, investment grade and higher than rivals Corus or ThyssenKrupp.

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 69,500 euros a year to cover 10 million euros of debt for five years, down from as much as 130,000 euros.

The lower debt and rising steel prices helped Arcelor shares gain 6.8 percent in the quarter. London-based Corus, the U.K.'s largest steelmaker, surged 38 percent as it recovered from near- bankruptcy. ThyssenKrupp of Germany, the world's biggest maker of stainless steel, fell 5.7 percent.

Arcelor was formed in 2002 from the merger of Usinor SA of France, Arbed SA of Luxembourg and Aceralia Corporacion Siderurgica SA of Spain. Dolle, who joined Usinor in 1980, was paid 832,500 euros last year.

Freight Rates

Cheaper steel imports were kept out of Europe in the first quarter by freight rates that tripled from a year earlier. That limit on competition helped Arcelor boost prices even as Europe's steel demand lagged.

EU steel demand rose 0.9 percent last year, less than the global average of 7.3 percent, the steel institute said. It forecast EU demand growth of 2.3 percent this year, still behind the global average of 6.2 percent.

A lack of raw materials is further limiting supply, helping prices. Benchmark export prices for hot-rolled coil from the EU have gained 62 percent this year to $495 a ton, the highest since April 1995, according to Metal Bulletin.

``A few months ago all the talk was of the rapid rate of price increases,'' MEPS (International) Ltd., a U.K.-based consultant, said in a note. ``Now the problem is actual availability.''


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[ariane] 07/5/2004 07:46

WIESBADEN, Germany (AFX) - German crude steel production in April fell 0.5
pct year-on-year to 3.86 mln tonnes, while pig iron production fell 1.1 pct
year-on-year to 2.45 mln tonnes, the federal statistics office said.
On a month-on-month basis, crude steel production fell 4.6 pct in April from
March, and pig iron production fell 4.0 pct, the office said.
In the first four months of this year, crude steel production rose 0.6 pct
year-on-year, while pig iron production fell 0.7 pct, the office said.
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[waldron] 03/5/2004 08:25

Growth of steel industry in China raises fear of glut
Keith Bradsher NYT Monday, May 3, 2004

[maywillow] 28/4/2004 10:43

cheers jwww

[plast] 23/4/2004 20:09

500 000 top up = £7500 or there abouts not to much is it, still its a buy and not sell thank goodness, must not grumble holding for the long, good luck to all holders.