1Q 2023 Key highlights:
- Health and safety focus: Protecting the health and wellbeing of the employees remains an overarching priority of the Company. Moving to a ‘predict-and-prevent’ culture with a particular focus on proactively reporting – and responding to – instances with the specific potential for serious injuries or fatalities (proactive PSIFs)2; LTIF2 rate of 0.64x in 1Q 2023
- Operating performance improved: 1Q 2023 operating income of $1.2bn (vs. operating loss of $0.3bn3,4 in 4Q 2022); EBITDA of $1.8bn in 1Q 2023 (vs. $1.3bn in 4Q 2022) and EBITDA/t of $126/t in 1Q 2023 (vs. $100/t in 4Q 2022)
- Enhanced share value: 1Q 2023 basic EPS of $1.28/sh vs. $0.30/sh in 4Q 2022, rolling twelve month ROE5 of 14.2%; 1Q 2023 book value per share6 of $64/sh
- Net income: $1.1bn in 1Q 2023 (vs. $0.3bn7 in 4Q 2022) includes share of JV and associates net income of $0.3bn (vs. $0.1bn in 4Q 2022)
- Financial strength: The Company ended March 2023 with net debt of $5.2bn (vs. $2.2bn at the end of December 2022) primarily due to M&A outflow (mainly the $2.2bn acquisition of ArcelorMittal Pecém formerly known as CSP18), share buyback ($0.5bn) and seasonal investment in working capital ($0.8bn). Gross debt of $11.5bn and cash and cash equivalents of $6.3bn as of March 31, 2023 (compared to $11.7bn and $9.4bn, respectively, as of December 31, 2022)
- A platform for investment and consistent capital returns:
- Recent acquisitions (ArcelorMittal Pecém (Brazil) and ArcelorMittal Texas HBI) and completed strategic capex projects (Mexico hot strip mill) performing well relative to assumed normalized levels of profitability
- Capex in 1Q 2023 of $0.9bn is in line with our full year guidance of within the range of $4.5bn-$5.0bn
- The Company has repurchased 19.1m shares so far in 2023, completing its previously announced buyback program and bringing the total reduction in diluted share count since September 30, 20208 to 31%
- Following the approval granted by shareholders at the 2023 AGM, the Company announces its intention to repurchase up to 85 million shares through May 2025. The level of repurchases will reflect (and is subject to) the level of post-dividend FCF generated over the period. The Company’s capital return policy defines that a minimum 50% of post-dividend annual FCF is returned to shareholders through buybacks
- $0.44/sh base dividend to be paid in 2 equal instalments of $0.22/share in June 2023 and December 2023
- Continued progress in climate action: In April 2023, the Company announced that ArcelorMittal Brasil will form a renewable energy joint venture partnership with Casa dos Ventos to develop a 554MW wind power project in northeast Brazil