Arcelormittal Q4 net income up 16%

LONDON: Steel giant Arcelormittal Thursday reported a 15.53 per cent jump in its net income to $1.19 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, backed by higher sales among other factors.

The world's largest steelmaker had posted a net income of $1.03 billion in the year-ago quarter, the company said.

The company reported a "net income attributable to equity holders of the parent" of $1.19 billion in the fourth quarter.

The company reported FY2018 net income of $5.1 billion, 12.7 per cent higher as compared to $4.6 billion for FY2017. "Sales in 4Q 2018 were 3.5 per cent higher as compared to 4Q 2017 primarily due to higher average steel selling prices (8.2 per cent) and higher market-priced iron ore shipments (18.2 per cent), offset in part by lower steel shipments (-) 3.6 per cent," the company said. During the quarter the company recorded sales to the tune of $18.32 billion as against $17.71 billion in the corresponding quarter a year-ago. It also said that exceptional net gains for the quarter under review were $29 million while the same for the year-ago quarter was "nil".

Chairman and CEO Lakshmi N Mittal said: "2018 was a year of positive momentum for Arcelormittal characterised by important strategic and financial progress. Operating in a healthy market environment, the company enjoyed a strong financial performance, delivering substantial profitability improvement,"