ArcelorMittal Posts Huge Quarterly Profit

(RTTNews) - Steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal (MT) Thursday posted a huge profit for the second quarter, as sales surged more than 76 percent from last year, reflecting higher prices and steel shipments together with a surge in iron ore reference prices.

The Group posted a net income of $4.00 billion or $3.46 a share for the second quarter, compared to a net loss of $559 million or $0.50 a share last year. Operating income for the quarter reached $4.4 billion, as compared to an operating loss of $253 million a year ago.

ArcelorMittal generated quarterly sales of $19.3 billion, 76.2 percent higher than last year's $11.0 billion. The Group attributed the significant growth to higher average steel selling prices and steel shipments as well as a surge in iron ore reference prices. These were partially offset by the impact of lower iron ore shipments.