Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

***business*** · 10-02-2010, 05:49 PM

Arcelor Mittal says it made a profit of $1.07bn (£682m) in the three months to December 2009 after demand for steel increased.

In the same period a year ago, the firm had reported a $2.6bn loss.

However, the company's profit of $118m for the whole of 2009 was much lower than the $9.4bn profit it made in 2008.

The world's largest steel maker said steel demand was picking up, with shipments in the first few months of 2010 outpacing that at the end of 2009.

But the company warned that any increase in sales would be offset by lower selling prices and higher costs.

Arcelor Mittal also expects its net debt to increase during the first three months of 2010.

Chief executive Lakshmi Mittal said the company had reduced its cost base "substantially" in 2009, stripping $2.7bn from its running costs.

Full article BBC Business News