ArcelorMittal reduces 2014 outlook on lower iron ore price

Steel titan ArcelorMittal said Friday it has reduced its outlook for 2014 because of a lower-than-expected iron ore price, even as it reported a return to profit in the second quarter of this year.

The company, run by Indian magnate Lakshmi Mittal and based in Luxembourg, said it now expects 2014 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) to be $7 billion (five billion euros) instead of the $8 billion previously projected.

The iron ore price has “been lower than anticipated,” it explained in a statement outlining its half-year results.

For the first time in two years, ArcelorMittal said it produced a quarter in the black, generating $52 million in net profit in the second quarter of this year, against a loss of $780 million for the same period last year.

For the full half-year, though, the overall figure was in the red to the tune of $153 million — yet that was an improvement over a loss of $1.1 billion a year ago.

The company said indicators looked positive for the rest of this year in Europe and the United States, which together accounted for two-thirds of shipments.

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