ArcelorMittal grew its net income to $4.1 billion in the first quarter, up from $4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The Luxembourg-based steelmaker, whose North American headquarters is in Schererville, pulled in $5.1 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amoritization, which was flat as compared to the previous quarter.
ArcelorMittal, which still has a global research and development lab in East Chicago after selling off most of its Northwest Indiana facilities to Cleveland-Cliffs, made $4.4 billion in operating income in the first quarter, down from $4.6 billion in the first quarter of 2021.
The multinational company suspended its operations in Ukraine after Russia invaded in late February. It has since restarted one of three blast furnaces there.
"Our first quarter performance was overshadowed by the war in Ukraine. Our focus has been on providing support to our 26,000 colleagues and their communities at a time of tragedy and hardship," CEO Aditya Mittal said. "Notwithstanding this backdrop, further aggravated by rising inflationary pressures across the world, ArcelorMittal produced a strong first quarter performance. This is testimony to the resilience of our business model, characterized by diversity of geography, product category and vertical integration."
ArcelorMittal earned $4.28 per share in the first quarter, a 9% increase.
"Our performance continues to be supported by consistent execution against our strategy. We have approved targeted investments in support of our decarbonization plans and continue to fund high-return projects in growth markets," Mittal said. "This has all been achieved without compromising our balance sheet strength or returns to shareholders — net debt is at the lowest level since the merger, and we have today announced a further $1 billion share buyback, bringing the 2022 buyback announced so far to $2 billion."
The company ended the quarter with $8.7 billion in gross debt. Its net debt declined from $4 billion at the end of last year to $3.2 billion at the end of the first quarter.
It invested $2 billion in working capital and delivered $1.5 billion in free cash flow in the first quarter.
"Market conditions are currently very strong, although we are now anticipating apparent steel consumption to contract slightly this year compared with 2021," Mittal said. "Nevertheless, it is clear that the longer-term fundamental outlook for steel is positive. China’s focus on decarbonization and removal of (Value Added Tax)-rebates on steel exports are encouraging; so too are the actions taken by governments to protect against the threats of unfair trade. And we know that steel will play a critical and vital role in the transition to a decarbonized and circular economy — there is no substitute.”
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Olive Garden, Tacos and Burritos, El Jimador, Dunkin, Midwest Express Clinic, Batteries Plus Bulbs opening
Opening soon
'A long time coming'
Slightly delayed
Open
Coming soon
Open
Former Golden Crown site
Also a downtown location
Relocated
Open
Open
WATCH NOW: Riding Shotgun with NWI Cops — Patrolling Lowell with Cpl. Aaron Crawford