Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, has announced its consolidated financial results for 2016. ArcelorMittal said that in 2016 its EBITDA was comfortably in excess of initial expectations and, furthermore, it has delivered on its commitment to prioritize debt reduction, significantly strengthening the balance sheet and ending the year with the lowest level of net debt since the creation of the company.
In 2016, ArcelorMittal registered a net profit of $1.78 billion, compared to a net loss of $7.9 billion recorded in the previous year. In the given year, the company's sales decreased by 10.7 percent year on year to $56.8 billion, primarily due to lower average steel selling prices and lower steel shipments. Total steel shipments amounted to 83.9 million mt in 2016, declining by 0.8 percent year on year. In the given year, ArcelorMittal's EBITDA decreased by 19.6 percent to $6.25 billion, compared to 2015, primarily due to lower shipments in Brazil and Europe.
ArcelorMittal's crude steel production amounted to 90.8 million mt in 2016, down 1.8 percent year on year, while its iron ore production decreased by 12 percent year on year to 55.2 million mt.
The company stated that in the current year it remains fully focused on continuing the good progress in the three areas of cost optimization, product mix and volume growth. In addition, given global overcapacity, ensuring fair trade remains crucial and it will continue to call for a comprehensive solution to unfair trade practices.