World's Largest Steelmaker Posts $1.1 Billion Loss as Coronavirus Bites
May 07 2020 - 6:32AM
Dow Jones News
By Alistair MacDonald
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, posted a loss of
$1.1 billion in the first quarter, and said demand for the metal
fell by a third in North America and Europe as the coronavirus
pandemic crushed car production, among other factors.
Despite Thursday's dire numbers, analysts said it could have
been worse, with the company helped by a strong start to the year
before the coronavirus lockdowns began, and a relatively healthy
balance sheet. During the pandemic the steel maker has been
manufacturing protective face masks and ventilators. Its shares
were up by 4.5% in early morning trade in London.
ArcelorMittal "at the very least stands out as the steel company
best placed to weather this crisis and emerge stronger on the other
side, which isn't how it's traded," Citigroup said in a research
note.
The European Union is reviewing the quotas it uses to keep out
cheaper foreign steel from places like Turkey and Asia, said Aditya
Mittal, the company's president and CFO. In January last year, the
EU imposed country quotas on its major suppliers, levying a 25%
duty on imports that exceed the limits. But the quotas are based on
average steel imported during a period when steel demand was
considerably more robust than today.
Write to Alistair MacDonald at alistair.macdonald@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 07, 2020 06:17 ET (10:17 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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