• Analyst & investor call replay - link
• Earnings Release - EN - PDF
• Analysts slides – EN – PDF
• Analyst model - XLS

2023 key highlights:

Health and safety focus: Protecting employee health and wellbeing remains an overarching priority of the Company; LTIF² rate of 0.92x in FY 2023 and 0.70x in FY 2022. Performance in 2023 was severely impacted by the tragic Kostenko mine accident on October 28, 2023. The Company has commissioned dss+ to conduct a comprehensive independent Company-wide safety audit of its operations, to identify gaps and strengthen safety actions, processes and culture to help prevent serious accidents. Key recommendations to be published in September 2024

Healthy EBITDA and Free Cashflow: FY 2023 EBITDA of $7.6bn and EBITDA/tonne of $136/t, reflecting structural improvements to profitability. FY 2023 free cash flow (FCF) of $2.9bn⁷ ($7.6bn net cash provided by operating activities less $4.6bn capex (which includes $1.4bn strategic growth capex) and $0.2bn minority dividends) with 4Q 2023 FCF of $1.8bn ($3.3bn net cash provided by operating activities less $1.5bn capex)

Net income impacted by non-cash non-recurring items: Net income of $0.9bn includes a negative $2.4bn impact related to the disposal of the Kazakhstan operations⁶ and a $1.4bn impairment of Acciaierie d'Italia (ADI) in Italy¹⁶. Adjusting for these items, FY 2023 adjusted net income⁹ is $4.9bn. FY 2023 basic EPS of $1.09 (adjusted basic EPS⁹ of $5.78)

Financial strength: Net debt of $2.9bn at the end of 2023 (gross debt of $10.7bn, and cash and cash equivalents of $7.8bn) as compared to $2.2bn at the end of 2022. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had liquidity of $13.2 billion consisting of cash and cash equivalents of $7.8 billion and $5.4 billion of available credit lines¹³

Share repurchases driving enhanced value: Repurchased 45.4m shares in 2023¹¹, bringing the total reduction in fully diluted shares outstanding to 33% since the end of September 2020⁸. Book value per share⁴ increased to $66 over the last 12 months ROE³ of 8.9%

Priorities:

Growth: following a period of optimization and strategic investment, the Company is on the cusp of a step change in profitability:

• Strategic investments are estimated to add approximately $1.8bn to EBITDA^14,15 growth by the end of 2026. New projects expected to be commissioned in 2024 include: the cold rolling mill complex at Vega, additional capacity at Serra Azul mine and Barra Mansa (all in Brazil); the first phase of new Electrical Steels capacity in Europe; the first iron ore concentrate in Liberia; 1GW of renewable power capacity in India; and the new EAF at AMNS Calvert (US). In addition, the expansion of the AMNS India Hazira plant to ~15Mt capacity (Phase 1A) is progressing well and on track for completion in 2026 with Phase 1B Hazira capacity expansion to 20Mt planned; plans for expansion to 24Mt (including 1.5Mt long capacity) under preparation
• Decarbonized steel solutions: Existing capabilities in low-carbon metallics and EAF steel-making provide a unique competitive advantage as we offer an increasingly broad range of low-carbon intensity steel products to our customers. Our XCarb^®  recycled and renewably¹² produced steel continues to resonate with our customers, most recently exemplified by contracts to supply Vestas and Schneider Electric. Our DRI/EAF projects are progressing through FEED; we have signed contracts for a new 1.1Mt EAF at Gijon which will decarbonize the Long business in Spain, allowing for production of rails and quality wire rods; and a signed Letter of Intent with EDF for a long-term agreement to supply low carbon emissions power for our key French operations
• Progressive capital allocation: The Company’s defined capital allocation and return policy is working well, allowing the Company to develop and significantly grow its earnings capacity whilst consistently rewarding shareholders. The Board proposes to increase the annual base dividend to shareholders from $0.44/sh in FY 2023 to $0.50/sh (to be paid in 2 equal installments in June 2024 and December 2024), subject to the approval of shareholders at the 2024 AGM. In addition, the Company will continue to return a minimum 50% of post-dividend FCF to shareholders through its share buyback programs

Financial highlights (on the basis of IFRS^1,2):

Commenting, Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal Chief Executive Officer, said:

“In October last year we committed to commissioning an independent 3^rd party global audit of all our safety related practices and actions. This audit is now underway and I am determined its findings and recommendations, combined with the considerable efforts we are already implementing across the Group, will make us a safer and ultimately accident free company. Every employee in ArcelorMittal is aligned in this goal.

“Turning to our financial performance, our results for the full year reflect the benefits of the structural improvements we have made to our cost base, asset portfolio and balance sheet in recent years. Despite the operating environment becoming increasingly challenging as the year progressed, our profitability per tonne is healthy and well above long-term averages. This highlights the enhanced sustainability we have built into the business, enabling us to generate healthy cash flow to invest for future growth and return attractive levels of capital to our shareholders.

"Looking ahead, there are early signs of a more constructive industry backdrop. This, alongside the progress we are making with our portfolio of strategic growth projects - several of which will complete this year - means the Company will continue to take important steps forward in its drive to be a stronger, more profitable, and of course safer, Company."

Fourth quarter 2023 earnings analyst conference call

Mr. Lakshmi Mittal and Aditya Mittal will host a conference call for members of the investment community to present and comment on the three-month period and twelve month periods ended December 31, 2023 on: Thursday February 8, 2024, at 9.30am US Eastern time; 14.30pm London time and 15.30pm CET.

Webcast link: https://interface.eviscomedia.com/player/1154/

VIP Connect Conference Call:

Participants may pre-register and will receive dedicated dial-in details to easily and quickly access the call:

https://services.choruscall.it/DiamondPassRegistration/register?confirmationNumber=2729640&linkSecurityString=59ba86ec0 

Please visit the results section on our website to listen to the reply once the event has finished https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/investors/results 

Footnotes

1. The financial information in this press release has been prepared consistently with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and as adopted by the European Union. The interim financial information included in this announcement has also been prepared in accordance with IFRS applicable to interim periods, however this announcement does not contain sufficient information to constitute an interim financial report as defined in International Accounting Standard 34, “Interim Financial Reporting”. The numbers in this press release have not been audited. The financial information and certain other information presented in a number of tables in this press release have been rounded to the nearest whole number or the nearest decimal. Therefore, the sum of the numbers in a column may not conform exactly to the total figure given for that column. In addition, certain percentages presented in the tables in this press release reflect calculations based upon the underlying information prior to rounding and, accordingly, may not conform exactly to the percentages that would be derived if the relevant calculations were based upon the rounded numbers. Segment information presented in this press release is prior to inter-segment eliminations and certain adjustments made to operating results of the segments to reflect corporate costs, income from non-steel operations (e.g. logistics and shipping services) and the elimination of stock margins between the segments. This press release also includes certain non-GAAP financial/alternative performance measures. ArcelorMittal presents EBITDA and EBITDA/tonne, free cash flow (FCF) and ratio of net debt/LTM EBITDA which are non-GAAP financial/alternative performance measures, as additional measures to enhance the understanding of its operating performance. ArcelorMittal also presents Equity book value per share and ROE as shown in footnotes to this press release. ArcelorMittal believes such indicators are relevant to provide management and investors with additional information. The definition of EBITDA has been revised in this earnings release to split out the impairment charges and exceptional items of the Kazakhstan disposal because the Company believes this presentation provides more clarity with respect to the impacts of this disposal. ArcelorMittal also presents net debt and change in working capital as additional measures to enhance the understanding of its financial position, changes to its capital structure and its credit assessment. ArcelorMittal also presents adjusted net income(loss) and adjusted basic earnings per share as it believes these are useful measures for the underlying business performance excluding impairment items, exceptional items. The definition of adjusted net income has been revised as for EBITDA to split out the impairment charges and exceptional items of the Kazakhstan disposal for the same reason as for EBITDA and also to clarify that impairment charges and exceptional items of associates, joint ventures and other investments are excluded from this alternative performance measure. The Company’s guidance as to additional EBITDA estimated to be generated from certain projects, free cash flow, cash taxes and its working capital release (or the change in working capital included in net cash provided by operating activities) for 2023 is based on the same accounting policies as those applied in the Company’s financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. ArcelorMittal is unable to reconcile, without unreasonable effort, such guidance to the most directly comparable IFRS financial measure, due to the uncertainty and inherent difficulty of predicting the occurrence and the financial impact of items impacting comparability. For the same reasons, ArcelorMittal is unable to address the significance of the unavailable information. Non-GAAP financial/alternative performance measures should be read in conjunction with, and not as an alternative to, ArcelorMittal's financial information prepared in accordance with IFRS.
2. LTIF refers to lost time injury frequency rate equals lost time injuries per 1,000,000 worked hours, based on own personnel and contractors. LTIF figures: 12M 2023 0.92 and 12M 2022 0.70.
3. ROE refers to "Return on Equity" which is calculated as trailing twelve-month adjusted net income (excluding impairment charges and exceptional items) attributable to equity holders of the parent divided by the average equity attributable to the equity holders of the parent over the period. 2023 ROE of 8.9% ($4.9 billion / $54.4 billion). 2022 ROE of 20.3% ($10.6 billion / $52.3 billion).
4. Equity book value per share is calculated as the Equity attributable to the equity holders of the parent divided by diluted number of shares at the end of the period. 4Q 2023 total equity of $54.0 billion divided by 819 million shares outstanding equals $66/sh. 3Q 2023 total equity of $55.4 billion divided by 838 million diluted shares outstanding equals $66/sh.
5. Impairment charge for 12M 2023 (excluding that related to the sale of operations in Kazakhstan) amounted to $0.1 billion, related to the Long business of ArcelorMittal South Africa. Impairment charge of $1.0 billion in 12M 2022 related to ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Ukraine).
6. Exceptional items for 12M 2023 (excluding that related to the sale of operations in Kazakhstan) were nil. Exceptional items for 12M 2022 of $0.3 billion included non-cash inventory related provisions partially offset by gains related to the acquisition of the Hot Briquetted Iron (‘HBI’) plant in Texas and the settlement of a claim by ArcelorMittal for a breach of a supply contract. Following the sale of the Company's steel and mining operations in Kazakhstan the Company recorded a $0.9 billion non-cash impairment charge (including $0.2 billion goodwill), and recorded $1.5 billion cumulative translation losses (previously recorded against equity) through the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
7. FY 2022 FCF of $6.4 billion ($10.2 billion net cash provided by operating activities less capex of $3.5 billion less minority dividends of $0.3 billion).
8. September 30, 2020, was the inception date of the ongoing share buyback programs.
9. See Appendix 5 for reconciliation of adjusted net income and adjusted basic EPS.
10. On March 9, 2023, ArcelorMittal announced that following receipt of customary regulatory approvals it has completed the acquisition of Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (‘CSP’) in Brazil for an enterprise value of approximately $2.2 billion. CSP has since been renamed ArcelorMittal Pecém and is a world-class operation, producing high-quality slab at a globally competitive cost. Its facility, located in the state of Ceará in northeast Brazil was commissioned in 2016. It operates a three million tonne capacity blast furnace and has access via conveyors to the Port of Pecém, a large-scale, deep-water port located 10 kilometers from the plant. The acquisition offers significant operational and financial synergies and brings with it the potential for further expansions, such as the option to add primary steelmaking capacity (including direct reduced iron) and rolling and finishing capacity. Given its location, ArcelorMittal Pecém also presents an opportunity to create a new low-carbon steelmaking hub, capitalizing on the state of Ceará’s ambition to develop a low-cost green hydrogen hub in Pecém.
11. Company has repurchased 45.4 million shares during 12M 2023 including 26.3 million shares from the current 85 million share buy back program.
12. XCarb® is designed to bring together all of ArcelorMittal’s reduced, low and zero-carbon products and steelmaking activities, as well as wider initiatives and green innovation projects, into a single effort focused on achieving demonstrable progress towards carbon neutral steel. Alongside the new XCarb® brand, we have launched three XCarb® initiatives: the XCarb® innovation fund, XCarb® green steel certificates and XCarb® recycled and renewably produced for products made via the Electric Arc Furnace route using scrap. The Company is offering green steel using a system of certificates (XCarb® green certificates). These will be issued by an independent auditor to certify tonnes of CO2 savings achieved through the Company’s investment in decarbonization technologies in Europe. Net-zero equivalence is determined by assigning CO2 savings certificates equivalent to CO2 per tonne of steel produced in 2018 as baseline. The certificates will relate to the tonnes of CO2 saved in total, as a direct result of the decarbonization projects being implemented across a number of its European sites.
13. On December 19, 2018, ArcelorMittal signed a $5.5 billion Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF"), with a five-year maturity plus two one-year extension options. During the fourth quarter of 2019, ArcelorMittal executed the option to extend the facility to December 19, 2024 for an available amount of $5.4 billion. After the extension the remaining $0.1 billion remained with a maturity of December 19, 2023 and has hence expired. In December 2020, ArcelorMittal executed the second option to extend the facility, and the new maturity is now extended to December 19, 2025. On April 30, 2021, ArcelorMittal amended its $5.5 billion RCF to align with its sustainability and climate action strategy. On December 20, 2022, the RCF was amended as part of the transition from Libor to risk free rates. Loans in USD are now based on Term SOFR instead of Libor. As of December 31, 2023, the $5.4 billion revolving credit facility was fully available.
14. Estimate of additional contribution to EBITDA, based on assumptions once ramped up to capacity and assuming prices/spreads generally in line with the averages of the 2015-2020 period. The $1.8 billion total also includes the expected share of net income from key strategic growth projects in AMNS India and Calvert (US).
15. New segmentation from January 1, 2024: In order to better reflect the business profile and external understanding of its geographical and market exposures, the Company will going forward refer to EBITDA (defined as operating income (loss) plus depreciation, impairment items and exceptional items and income from associates, joint ventures and other investments (excluding impairments and exceptional items if any, of associates, joint ventures and other investments). The following changes will be made to the Company's reporting: a) The NAFTA segment will be renamed "North America", a core growth region for the ArcelorMittal Group; b) "India and JVs” will be reported separately as a segment, reflecting the share of net income (excluding impairment charges) of AMNS India, VAMA and Calvert as well as the other associates, joint ventures and other investments. India is a high growth vector of the Group and we believe our assets have strategic advantages to grow in line with the market and increase profitability; c) "Sustainable Solutions" segment will be composed of a number of high-growth, niche, capital light businesses playing an important role in supporting climate action (including renewables, special projects and construction business) which are currently reported within the Europe segment, will be reported separately; d) Following the sale of the Company’s operations in Kazakhstan, the remaining parts of the former ACIS segment will be assigned to an “Others” segment; and e) No changes to the "Brazil" and "Mining" segments. These changes will be applied as from January 1, 2024 and will be presented with the earnings release for the first quarter of 2024. The Company will in due course publish historical comparative information for modelling purposes.
16. Impairments of associates, joint ventures and other investments were $1.4 billion for 12M 2023, and relate to the impairment of the Company’s investment in Acciaierie d'Italia (ADI) following downward revisions to the expected future cash flows.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document may contain forward-looking information and statements about ArcelorMittal and its subsidiaries. These statements include financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, products and services, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “target” or similar expressions. Although ArcelorMittal’s management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors and holders of ArcelorMittal’s securities are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of ArcelorMittal, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed or identified in the filings with the Luxembourg Stock Market Authority for the Financial Markets (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier) and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) made or to be made by ArcelorMittal, including ArcelorMittal’s latest Annual Report on Form 20-F on file with the SEC. ArcelorMittal undertakes no obligation to publicly update its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.