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ArcelorMittal
MT,
said Thursday that its first-quarter sales and earnings declined, but still exceeded analysts’ expectations as market conditions showed improvement.
The Luxembourg-based steelmaker reported $1.1 billion in quarterly net profit compared with $4.12 billion in the first quarter of 2022, on sales that fell 15% to $18.50 billion.
Its quarterly earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization came to $1.82 billion.
The result compares with analysts’ expectations of $694 million in net profit and $1.64 billion in Ebitda, according to a company-provided consensus. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected $17.4 billion in quarterly revenue.
Total steel shipments declined 5.8% to 14.5 million metric tons while crude steel production fell to 14.5 million tons from 16.3 million tons a year prior.
The company said its quarterly sales were affected by average selling prices the were 13% lower, and lower steel shipments but that it expects a further increase in profitability in the second quarter.
“Market conditions improved as anticipated in the first quarter, with the end of customer destocking supporting apparent steel consumption growth and a rebound in steel spreads,” the company said.
Write to Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com
