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ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India reported that its Ebitda in March quarter increased eight per cent to $435 million with the contribution from external sale of pellets from the newly commissioned Odisha plant offsetting negative price cost impact.
Crude steel production in March quarter decreased 6 per cent to 1.7 million tonne against 1.8 mt logged in same quarter last year, primarily due to planned maintenance. Steel sales also decreased by 5 per cent.
ArcelorMittal said that plans are underway to de-bottleneck AM/NS India’s existing operations to achieve 8.8 mt capacity by end 2023.
In March, ArcelorMittal had announced a strategic partnership with Greenko Group for a $600 million 975MW solar and wind power project. In its earnings release, the company mentioned that it was studying the option to develop a second phase which would double the installed capacity. The project commissioning is expected by mid-2024 and is estimated to add $100 million to ArcelorMittal EBITDA upon completion with additional benefits accruing to ArcelorMittal through its 60 per cent ownership of AMNS India.
The expansion of capacity at Hazira plant to 14.4 mt was in ‘advance preparation’. The company, however, was awaiting environmental clearance.
Growth despite inflation
Globally, ArcelorMittal delivered a strong set of numbers despite inflationary pressures and the Ukraine war.
The company said that it had announced suspension of operations to protect its people and assets at the onset of the war in Ukraine. “Since then we have slowly restarted operations, and are currently operating one of three blast furnaces,” it said in a release.
Globally, ArcelorMittal reported its net income in the quarter under review increased 78 per cent to $4.1 billion against $2.3 billion logged in the same period last year.
Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal CEO said market conditions are currently strong but we are now anticipating apparent steel consumption to contract slightly this year compared to 2021.
China’s focus on decarbonisation, removal of VAT-rebates on steel exports are encouraging. Steel will play a critical and vital role in the transition to a decarbonised and circular economy, he said.
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