Arcelor-Mittal Profit Falls 3.5% on Higher Tax

Elena
21 Feb, 2007
New York City

Full-year pro-forma profit earned by the company dropped to $7.97 billion from $8.26 billion. Arcelor-Mittal contributed the net income decrease to a higher tax levy of $1.7 billion paid in 2006. The group''s EBITDA earnings rose 2.1% to $15.27 billion in 2006, falling below the company''s own target range of $15.2 billion to $15.4 billion and missing analyst expectations for EBITDA of $15.32 billion.

[R]8:00 AM Arcelor-Mittal posted a 3.5% profit drop in 2006.[/R]
The world''s largest steelmaker Arcelor-Mittal reported a 3.5% profit decline in 2006, citing a higher tax rate. However, the company said it will distribute $2.4 billion to shareholders by means of dividend and share buybacks. The steelmaker also said it expects its Q1 performance to be in line with Q4 levels. However, management restated its belief that 2007 is likely to show better results than 2006.

Full-year pro-forma profit earned by the company dropped to $7.97 billion from $8.26 billion. Arcelor-Mittal contributed the net income decrease to a higher tax levy of $1.7 billion paid in 2006 compared to $1.4 billion in 2005. The group''s EBITDA earnings rose 2.1% to $15.27 billion in 2006, falling below the company''s own target range of $15.2 billion to $15.4 billion and missing analyst expectations for EBITDA of $15.32 billion.

In the fourth quarter, Arcelor-Mittal earned $2.37 billion, or $1.71 a share, up from $2.18 billion, or $1.57 a share in Q3, boosted by sales rise of 5% to $23.3 billion. The steelmaker generated $4.3 billion in cash in the quarter and cut debt by $2.3 billion. Arcelor-Mittal''s shares rose 0.6% in early afternoon trading in Paris.