Steel Mills

ArcelorMittal Records Strong Q4, Best Full-Year Results Since '08

Written by David Schollaert

February 10, 2022

ArcelorMittal recorded earnings of $4.05 billion in fourth-quarter 2021, besting the same year-ago quarter by more than threefold, despite lower shipment volumes, due to sharply higher steel prices.

ArcelorMittalFor the year, global earnings for the Luxembourg-based miner and steelmaker reached $14.97 billion, up from a loss of $733 million in 2020 despite a 9.0% decrease in shipments to 62.9 million metric tons in 2021. Sharply higher steel prices resulted in the group’s most profitable year since 2008.

“2021 was a strong year in which we accelerated progress on many fronts. The global economic rebound post initial COVID-19 restrictions being lifted supported buoyant demand in all markets delivering very high levels of profitability.,” ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal said in a statement.

The company’s steel shipments rose 8.2% from the prior quarter, but were down 8.7% when compared to the same quarter a year ago.

ArcelorMittal’s North American operations recorded EBITDA of $1.05 billion on revenues of $3.42 billion in the fourth quarter, up from earnings of $995 million in the prior quarter despite a 2.7% decrease in sales. North American steel shipments totaled 2.21 million metric tons in Q4, down 3.3% from Q3. 

The Calvert hot strip mill – ArcelorMittal’s 50/50 joint venture with Nippon Steel Corp. in Alabama – recorded EBITDA of $270 million in the fourth quarter, down 32.0% from Q3, but still a fourfold improvement from the same period in 2020.

Calvert’s production in Q4 totaled 1.1 million metric tons, down 13.8% versus 1.2 million tons in the prior quarter, mainly due to a planned maintenance outage in November. 

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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