UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

FORM 6-K

 

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16
UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

 

 

Dated May 12, 2021

 

Commission File Number: 001-35788

 

ARCELORMITTAL

(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

 

24-26, Boulevard d’Avranches

L-1160 Luxembourg

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

 

Form 20-F x            Form 40-F ¨

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ¨

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ¨

 

 

 

 

 

 

ArcelorMittal is providing on this Form 6-K (i) its table of capitalization and indebtedness as of March 31, 2021, (ii) certain recent developments and (iii) its earnings release for the first quarter of 2021.

 

Exhibit List

 

Exhibit No. Description
Exhibit 99.1      Table of Capitalization and Indebtedness
Exhibit 99.2 Certain Recent Developments
Exhibit 99.3 ArcelorMittal’s Earnings Release for the First Quarter of 2021

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

ARCELORMITTAL

 

Date: May 12, 2021

 

By: /s/ Henk Scheffer  
Name: Henk Scheffer  
Title: Group Secretary & Group Compliance & Data Protection Officer  

 

 

 

 

Exhibit Index

 

Exhibit No. Description
Exhibit 99.1      Table of Capitalization and Indebtedness
Exhibit 99.2 Certain Recent Developments
Exhibit 99.3 ArcelorMittal’s Earnings Release for the First Quarter of 2021

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

CAPITALIZATION AND INDEBTEDNESS

 

The following table sets out the consolidated capitalization and indebtedness of ArcelorMittal as of March 31, 2021. You should read this table together with the Group’s consolidated financial statements and other financial data appearing in its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 and its earnings release for the first quarter of 2021.

 

(amounts in U.S. $ millions)   As of March 31, 2021
Actual
 
Short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt     2,813  
Secured and Unguaranteed     351  
Guaranteed and Unsecured     49  
Secured and Guaranteed      
Unsecured/Unguaranteed     2,413  
Long-term debt, net of current portion     8,552  
Secured and Unguaranteed     665  
Guaranteed and Unsecured     91  
Secured and Guaranteed      
Unsecured/Unguaranteed     7,796  
Non-controlling interests     1,982  
Equity attributable to the equity holders of the parent     40,000  
Common shares     393  
Treasury shares     (1,185 )
Additional paid-in capital     35,253  
Mandatorily convertible subordinated notes     840  
Retained earnings     24,476  
Reserves(a)     (19,777 )
Total equity     41,982  
Total capitalization (Total equity plus Short-term debt plus Long-term debt)     53,347  

 

(a) Includes foreign currency translation adjustments of -$17,839 million, unrealized gains on derivative financial instruments relating to CFH (Cash Flow Hedge) of $693 million, unrealized gains on investments in equity instruments at FVOCI (Fair Value through Other Comprehensive Income) of $878 million, and recognized actuarial losses of -$3,509 million.

 

 

 

 

Except as disclosed herein, there have been no material changes in the consolidated capitalization and indebtedness and contingent liabilities of ArcelorMittal since March 31, 2021.

 

During the period April 1, 2021 to May 10, 2021, ArcelorMittal has repurchased 3.1 million shares for total consideration of $94.1 million, in accordance with its announced share buyback program.

 

As of March 31, 2021, ArcelorMittal had guaranteed approximately $140 million of debt of its operating subsidiaries and $4.4 billion of debt of its associates and joint ventures.

 

As of March 31, 2021, ArcelorMittal had approximately $1,016 million of consolidated secured indebtedness outstanding.

 

As of March 31, 2021, ArcelorMittal had $5.5 billion of indebtedness available to be drawn under a revolving credit facility, all of which would be unsecured. ArcelorMittal South Africa had a ZAR 4.5 billion borrowing base facility, under which ZAR 2.45 billion ($164 million) had been drawn, all of which is or would be secured.

 

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Exhibit 99.2

 

Recent Developments

 

ArcelorMittal publishes convening notice for its Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders

 

On May 7, 2021, ArcelorMittal (the “Company”) announced the publication of the convening notice for its Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders (the “General Meetings”), which will be held on Tuesday June 8, 2021 at 13.30 CET.

 

In view of the COVID-19 outbreak, and related limitations on travel and gatherings, ArcelorMittal is taking precautionary measures to limit exposure for its employees, shareholders and other stakeholders. The Company’s Board of Directors has therefore decided to hold this year’s General Meetings without a physical presence, as permitted under Luxembourg law. Arrangements have therefore been made to provide shareholders with the opportunity to vote electronically and by proxy voting.

 

The ArcelorMittal shareholders entitled to vote at the General Meetings will be those who are shareholders on the record date of May 25, 2021 at midnight (24:00 hours) (CET) (the “Record Date”).

 

The convening notice, the Annual Report 2020, the Form 20-F 2020, the voting forms and all other meeting documentation will be available on ArcelorMittal’s website www.arcelormittal.com under Investors – Equity investors – Shareholders events – AGM – General Meetings of shareholders, 8 June 2021. This reference to our website is an inactive textual reference to the uniform resource locator (URL) and is for your reference only.

 

The resolutions to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting include approval of the 2020 financial statements and appointment of the independent auditor for 2021; the proposed dividend of $0.30 (gross) per share to be paid on June 15, 2021; the remuneration policy, the remuneration report and the remuneration of the Board of Directors in relation to the financial year 2020 (total €1,418,861 ($1,741,084)); reelection of Mrs. Karyn Ovelmen and Mr. Tye Burt as members of the Board of Directors for another three-year term and election of Mrs. Clarissa Lins as a member of the Board for a three-year term; renewal of the authorization of the Board of Directors and of the corporate bodies of other companies in the ArcelorMittal group to acquire shares in the Company to be valid until the end of the 2022; authorization of grants of share based incentives and a Restricted Share Unit Plan and a Performance Unit Plan 2021-2030, with the 2021 Cap of shares that may be allocated to the Executive Office PSU Plan and the ArcelorMittal Equity Plan proposed to be set at a maximum of 3,500,000 shares, representing 0.3213% on a diluted basis and 0.3239% of the Company’s issued share capital as at December 31, 2020 (net of treasury shares), such authorization to be valid from the date of the Annual General Meeting until the annual general meeting of shareholders to be held in 2022.

 

In addition, the resolution to be proposed at the Extraordinary General Meeting would, if adopted, authorize the Board of Directors to cancel all the shares repurchased by the Company under its share buyback programs up to a maximum of 165 million shares and to consequently reduce the corresponding issued share capital and relevant reserves of the Company, such authorization to be valid for a period of three years or until the date of its renewal by a resolution of the general meeting of shareholders if such renewal date is prior to the expiration of the three-year period.

 

 

 

 

ArcelorMittal amends $5.5bn Revolving Credit Facility to align with its sustainability and climate action strategy

 

On April 30, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced that its $5.5bn Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF") was amended to align with its sustainability and climate action strategy. Under the amended RCF – the largest Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) linked facility of its kind in the metals and mining sector - the margin payable will be increased or decreased depending on ArcelorMittal’s performance against certain metrics related to its environmental and sustainability performance. The metrics measured include the CO2 intensity of ArcelorMittal’s European operations and the number of ArcelorMittal facilities globally which have been certified by ResponsibleSteel™ by the end of each year.

 

In addition, it has been agreed that the leverage ratio financial covenant currently contained in the RCF will fall away in the event that ArcelorMittal obtains an investment grade long-term credit rating (with a stable outlook) from two rating agencies. The RCF was signed on December 18, 2018 and remains undrawn and available for the Group’s general corporate purposes. Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank acted as ESG coordinator.

 

Investment agreement with Invitalia; ArcelorMittal Italia renamed Acciaierie d’Italia

 

On April 14, 2021, pursuant to the investment agreement (the “Investment Agreement”) of December 10, 2020 forming a public-private partnership between Invitalia, an Italian state-owned company, and AM InvestCo Italy (ArcelorMittal’s subsidiary party to the lease and purchase agreement for the Ilva business), Invitalia invested $400 million of new equity into AM InvestCo Italy, providing it with a 38% shareholding with equal governance rights over the company. Going forward, Acciaierie d’Italia Holding (the new name of AM InvestCo Italy) will operate independently, and as such will have its own funding plans.

 

The Investment Agreement stipulates a second equity injection by Invitalia, of up to €680 million, to fund the completion of the purchase of Ilva’s business by Acciaierie d’Italia, which is expected by May 2022 subject to certain conditions precedent*. At this point, Invitalia’s shareholding in Acciaierie d’Italia would increase to 60%, with ArcelorMittal to invest up to €70 million to retain a 40% shareholding and joint control over the company.

 

Going forward, Acciaierie d’Italia Holding will operate independently, and as such will have its own funding plans. As a result, ArcelorMittal will deconsolidate the assets and liabilities (including the remaining lease and purchase liability of €1.0 billion ($1.2 billion) and a cash balance of $0.2 billion) of Acciaierie d’Italia Holding from its consolidated statement of financial position and will account for its interest in the company under the equity method from the second quarter of 2021 onwards.

 

*The conditions precedent include: the amendment of the existing environmental plan to account for changes in the new industrial plan; the lifting of all criminal seizures on the Taranto plant; and the absence of restrictive measures – in the context of criminal proceedings where Ilva is a defendant – being imposed against Acciaierie d’Italia Holding or its subsidiaries. In case conditions precedent are not met, then the Acciaierie d’Italia Holding would not be required to complete the purchase of Ilva’s assets and its capital invested would be returned.

 

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ArcelorMittal plans major investment in German sites, to accelerate CO2 emissions reduction strategy and leverage the hydrogen grid

 

On March 29, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced that it is planning to build a large-scale industrial plant for the direct reduction of iron ore (DRI) and electric arc furnace (“EAF”)-based steelmaking at its site in Bremen, as well as an innovative DRI pilot plant in addition to an EAF in Eisenhüttenstadt, following the announcement of the planned expansion of Germany’s hydrogen infrastructure.

 

Using green hydrogen, up to 3.5 million tonnes of steel could be produced by the Bremen and Eisenhuttenstadt sites by 2030, with significantly lower CO2 emissions. Depending on the amount of hydrogen available, CO2 savings of more than 5 million tonnes could be possible. The technology conversion requires investments in the range of €1-1.5 billion.

 

In Germany, the group already operates Europe’s only DRI-EAF plant in Hamburg, where the switch to using hydrogen instead of natural gas in the iron ore reduction process is being prepared. The objective is to reach industrial commercial maturity of the technology by 2025, initially producing 100,000 tonnes of sponge iron a year.

 

Credit rating

 

On March 26, 2021, Fitch Ratings announced that it had revised the Company’s outlook from negative to positive while affirming the Company’s long-term issuer credit rating.

 

Air Liquide and ArcelorMittal join forces to accelerate the decarbonization of steel production in the Dunkirk industrial basin

 

On March 17, 2021, Air Liquide and ArcelorMittal signed a memorandum of understanding (“MoU”) with the objective of implementing solutions to produce low-carbon steel in Dunkirk. The two companies are joining forces to transform the steel production process through the development of innovative solutions involving low-carbon hydrogen and CO2 capture technologies. This partnership is the first step towards the creation of a new low-carbon hydrogen and CO2 capture technologies ecosystem in this major industrial basin. The project aims to reduce yearly CO2 emissions from ArcelorMittal’s steel-making facilities in Dunkirk by 2.85Mt by 2030. Air Liquide and ArcelorMittal have jointly applied for large projects funding under the Important Project of Common European Interest (“IPCEI”) scheme for hydrogen. Funding from European and/or French schemes supporting decarbonization is key to the implementation of the project.

 

ArcelorMittal launches XCarb™

 

On March 17, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced the launch of its first three XCarb™ initiatives, as part of the Company’s journey to its commitment to the objectives of the Paris Agreement and announced ambition to reduce carbon emissions by 30% in Europe and achieve group-wide carbon neutrality by 2050.

 

XCarb™ will ultimately 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.

 

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To support its launch, ArcelorMittal announced three XCarb™ branded initiatives:

 

• Our ‘XCarb™ green steel certificates’, which will enable us to support our customers as they seek to reduce their Scope 3 emissions;

 

• ‘XCarb™ recycled and renewably produced’ pioneering products for customers;

 

• Our ‘XCarb™ innovation fund’.

 

The first XCarb™ initiatives to be launched are as follows:

 

‘XCarb™ green steel certificates’

 

Across our ArcelorMittal Europe - Flat Products operations, we are investing in a broad range of initiatives to reduce carbon emissions from the blast furnace. These initiatives range from our flagship Smart Carbon projects, such as Torero (transforming biomass into bio-coal to replace the use of coal in the blast furnace) and Carbalyst (capturing carbon-rich blast furnace waste gas and converting it into bio-ethanol, which can then be used to make low-carbon chemical products) to capturing hydrogen-rich waste gases from the steelmaking process and injecting them into the blast furnace to reduce coal use.

 

These effort-intensive investments result in considerable CO2 savings, which can be passed onto customers in the form of the steel industry’s first-ever certification scheme. CO2 savings are aggregated, independently assured, and then converted into XCarb™ green steel certificates using a conversion factor that represents the average CO2 intensity of integrated steelmaking in Europe. The scheme therefore provides customers with the opportunity to buy certificates attached to their physical orders of steel, enabling them to report a reduction in their Scope 3 carbon emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. The company anticipates it will have 600,000 tonnes of equivalent green steel tonnes available by the end of 2022.

 

‘XCarb™ recycled and renewably produced’

 

‘XCarb™ recycled and renewably produced’ has been designed for products made via the EAF route using scrap steel. Recycled and renewably produced means that the physical steel was made with recycled material (scrap) using renewable electricity, giving it an extremely low CO2 footprint that can be as low as approximately 300kg of CO2 per tonne of finished steel when the metallics are 100% scrap. This customer offer is for both flat and long products. The electricity used in the steelmaking process is independently verified, with a ‘Guarantee of Origin’ given that it is from renewable sources.

 

ArcelorMittal launches ‘XCarb™ innovation fund’

 

On March 17, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced that it is launching the ‘XCarb™ innovation fund’, which anticipates investing up to $100 million annually in companies developing technologies with the potential to support and accelerate the transition to net zero carbon steelmaking. The fund is a part of ArcelorMittal’s wider XCarb™ sustainability initiative launched today to drive progress towards carbon neutral steel.

 

To be eligible for funding, companies must be developing directly applicable, commercially scalable technologies that offer strong potential to decarbonize the steelmaking process.

 

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The fund will be governed by an investment committee, comprising senior executive management members from functions and segments across the Company’s global operations and chaired by the CEO.

 

The ‘XCarb™ innovation fund’ will invest in a diversified portfolio of companies to ensure it captures the best and most important technologies under development.

 

Shareholder Notifications

 

Significant Shareholder Notification

 

On April 20, 2021, April 27, 2021, May 4, 2021 and May 11, 2021, with reference to Article 19(3) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse (Market Abuse Regulations), ArcelorMittal announced that notifications of share transactions by a Designated Person (i.e. Directors or Executive Officers) had been made, respectively, of the sale of 145,452 shares at a price per share of €24.3445 for a total of €3,540,954.21, of the sale of 335,087 shares at a price per share of €24.4511 for a total of €8,193,244.76, of the sale of 365,715 shares at a price per share of €25.0628 for a total of €9,165,859.36 and of the sale of 296,006 shares at a price per share of €25.3261 for a total of €7,496,673.64. These transactions are directly connected to ArcelorMittal’s share buyback program announced on March 4, 2021. ArcelorMittal’s Significant Shareholder has entered into a share repurchase agreement with ArcelorMittal to sell shares so that its voting rights in ArcelorMittal’s share capital (net of treasury shares) is maintained at the current level of 36.34%.

 

Société Générale SA shareholding notifications

 

On May 10, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced that Société Générale SA had notified it on May 5, 2021 of a decrease from 5.23% to 4.28% on April 30, 2021 in actual and potential shareholding (voting rights) in ArcelorMittal.

 

On April 1, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced that Société Générale SA had notified it on March 31, 2021 of an increase from 4.97% to 5.23% on March 26, 2021 in actual and potential shareholding (voting rights) in ArcelorMittal.

 

On March 26, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced that Société Générale SA had notified it on March 25, 2021 of a decrease from 5.09% to 4.97% on March 22, 2021 in actual and potential shareholding (voting rights) in ArcelorMittal.

 

On March 15, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced that Société Générale SA has notified it on 12 March 2021 of an increase from 4.79% to 5.09% on March 9, 2021 in actual and potential shareholding (voting rights) in ArcelorMittal.

 

On March 8, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced that Société Générale SA has notified it on March 8, 2021 of an increase from 4.79% to 5.01% on March 3, 2021 and of a decrease from 5.01% to 4.79% on March 4, 2021 in actual and potential shareholding (voting rights) in ArcelorMittal.

 

These notifications are published in reference to the Luxembourg law and the Grand Ducal regulation of 11 January 2008, on transparency requirements for issuers of securities (the “Transparency Law”) in view of a shareholding notification going above or below the 5% of voting rights threshold.

 

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BlackRock, Inc. Schedule 13G/A filing

 

On March 10, 2021, BlackRock, Inc. filed a Schedule 13G/A with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating that it beneficially owned 51,468,777 shares or 4.7% of ArcelorMittal’s issued shares as of February 28, 2021.

 

6

 

Exhibit 99.3

 

ArcelorMittal reports first quarter 2021 results

 

May 6, 2021 - ArcelorMittal (referred to as “ArcelorMittal” or the “Company”) (MT (New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Luxembourg), MTS (Madrid)), the world’s leading integrated steel and mining company, today announced results1 for the three-months ended March 31, 2021.

 

1Q 2021 Key highlights:

 

Health and safety performance: Protecting the health and wellbeing of employees remains the Company’s overarching priority; LTIF rate of 0.78x in 1Q 20212

 

Significantly improved operating performance in 1Q 2021, reflecting the continued demand recovery which supported a 6.5% sequential increase in steel shipments (to 16.5Mt vs. scope adjusted3 15.5Mt in 4Q 2020), the continued positive evolution of steel spreads, and the benefits of iron ore vertical integration

 

1Q 2021 operating income of $2.6bn vs. $2.0bn4 in 4Q 2020

 

Share of JV and associates net income of $0.5bn17 reflects strong performance at AMNS India and AMNS Calvert

 

Net income of $2.3bn in 1Q 2021 as compared to net income of $1.2bn in 4Q 2020

 

The Company delivered $1.0bn net cash provided by operating activities, despite a $1.6bn investment in working capital (composed of an outflow for trade accounts receivable of $1,557 million, an outflow for inventories of $1,588 million and an inflow for trade accounts payable and other of $1,511 million), reflecting seasonal as well as market factors. It also realized capital expenditures of $0.6bn and paid $0.1bn dividends paid to minorities

 

Long-term debt plus short-term debt (“gross debt”) declined to $11.4bn (vs. $12.3bn end 2020) and long-term debt plus short-term debt, less cash and cash equivalents and restricted funds (“net debt”) declined to $5.9bn (vs. $6.4bn end 2020)

 

XCarb™ launched, bringing 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. Additionally, during the quarter ArcelorMittal detailed concept plans to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions in Germany and in France, utilizing hydrogen-DRI and EAF steel-making technologies

 

Following the formation of a public-private partnership with Invitalia, ArcelorMittal Italia will be deconsolidated as of 2Q 2021. The new company, "Acciaierie d’Italia" will operate independently, with its own funding plans

 

The Company completed a $650m share buyback in 1Q 2021 following the partial sell-down of its equity stake in Cleveland Cliffs. Per its new policy19, a further $570m of capital is being returned to shareholders through a further share buyback program linked to surplus cash flows (net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures less dividends paid to minority shareholders) generated in 2020 (ongoing and to be completed by year end) and a $0.30/share base dividend will be paid in June 2021, subject to the approval of shareholders at the AGM

 

 

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Financial highlights (on the basis of IFRS1):

 

(USDm) unless otherwise shown   1Q 21     4Q 20     3Q 20     2Q 20     1Q 20  
Sales     16,193       14,184       13,266       10,976       14,844  
Operating income / (loss)     2,641       1,998       718       (253 )     (353 )
Net income / (loss) attributable to equity holders of the parent     2,285       1,207       (261 )     (559 )     (1,120 )
Basic earnings / (loss) per common share (US$)     1.94       1.01       (0.21 )     (0.50 )     (1.11 )
                                         
Operating income/ (loss) / tonne (US$/t)     160       116       41       (17 )     (18 )
                                         
Crude steel production (Mt)     17.6       18.8       17.2       14.4       21.1  
Steel shipments (Mt)     16.5       17.3       17.5       14.8       19.5  
Own iron ore production (Mt)     13.3       15.3       14.8       13.5       14.4  
Iron ore shipped at market price (Mt)     9.8       10.6       9.8       9.2       8.6  

 

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

 

“The first quarter of this year has been our strongest in a decade. While this is naturally a very welcome development following a highly challenging 2020, we are mindful that Covid continues to be a health challenge across the world especially in developing economies. Nowhere is this more obvious at present than in India, where we have our AM/NS India JV with Nippon Steel. Our colleagues in India are sending support wherever we can, including providing daily amounts of oxygen from our sites to local hospitals and setting up temporary medical facilities. Our thoughts are with the people of India as they strive to bring this situation under control.”

 

"Operationally, we have had a very positive start to the year. We are seeing a continuation of the positive market dynamics of the fourth quarter and have been steadily bringing back production in-line with the demand recovery, which is supported by low inventory levels through the value chain. Our priorities for the remainder of the year and beyond are clear: to maintain a competitive cost advantage; to strategically grow through high-return projects in high-growth markets, whilst leveraging existing infrastructure to develop our iron-ore resource; to consistently return cash to shareholders via a defined capital return policy; and to lead on sustainable development.”

 

“Progress on our decarbonization journey continued with the launch of our XCarbTM initiative, our first significant step to create a market for low-carbon steel. We are already seeing an encouraging response from our customers. Looking to our wider sustainability commitments, we are very focused on improving our safety performance. Our global health and safety council has been reconfigured and tasked with implementing the changes required to drive a step change in our results. We have also announced a new target to double the amount of women in management to 25% by 2030, which will ensure that we have a rich and diverse workforce ready to take full advantage of future opportunities.”

 

 

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Sustainable development and safety performance

 

Health and safety - Own personnel and contractors lost time injury frequency rate

 

Protecting the health and wellbeing of employees remains the Company’s overarching priority with ongoing strict adherence to World Health Organization guidelines, and specific government guidelines have been followed and implemented. We continue to ensure extensive monitoring, with stringent sanitary practices and social distancing measures at all operations, and have implemented remote working wherever possible and provided essential personal protective equipment to our people.

 

Health and safety performance (inclusive of ArcelorMittal Italia (previously known as Ilva)), based on own personnel and contractors lost time injury frequency (LTIF) rate was 1.17x in the first quarter of 2021 ("1Q 2021"). Excluding the impact of ArcelorMittal Italia, the LTIF was 0.78x for 1Q 2021. Prior period figures have not been recast for the ArcelorMittal USA disposal. LTIF figures for fourth quarter of 2020 ("4Q 2020") are 0.65x and 0.72x for the first quarter of 2020 ("1Q 2020").

 

The Company’s efforts to improve its health and safety record aim to strengthen the safety of its workforce with an absolute focus on eradicating fatalities.

 

Own personnel and contractors - Frequency rate

 

Lost time injury frequency rate   1Q 21     4Q 20     3Q 20     2Q 20     1Q 20  
Mining     1.22       0.68       0.35       0.54       0.79  
NAFTA     0.76       0.44       0.32       0.46       0.56  
Brazil     0.18       0.17       0.36       0.15       0.45  
Europe     0.91       1.35       1.04       0.96       1.04  
ACIS     0.77       0.59       0.66       0.48       0.82  
Total Steel     0.71       0.65       0.60       0.50       0.72  
Total (Steel and Mining) excluding ArcelorMittal Italia     0.78       0.65       0.56       0.50       0.72  
ArcelorMittal Italia     9.25       9.16       12.15       9.14       7.93  
Total (Steel and Mining) including ArcelorMittal Italia     1.17       0.93       0.95       0.77       1.01  

 

Key sustainable development highlights for 1Q 2021:

 

During 1Q 2021, the Company highlighted:

 

ArcelorMittal has committed to doubling the representation of women in management positions (manager level and above) by 2030, bringing the proportion to 25%.

 

During 1Q 2021, the Company announced a number of initiatives, plans and proposals on further CO2 reduction plans (including concept projects in Germany and in France and Spain to support its decarbonization efforts. These are summarized below and see recent development section for further details.

 

On March 29, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced conceptual plans to build a large-scale industrial plant for the direct reduction of iron ore (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF)-based steelmaking at its site in Bremen, as well as an innovative DRI pilot plant in addition to an electric arc furnace (EAF) in Eisenhüttenstadt, following the announcement of the planned expansion of Germany’s hydrogen infrastructure.

 

 

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On March 17, 2021, Air Liquide and ArcelorMittal signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the objective of implementing solutions to produce low-carbon steel in Dunkirk.

 

On March 17, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced the launch of its first three XCarb™ initiatives, as part of the Company’s journey to deliver on its 2050 net zero commitment. XCarb™ will ultimately 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.

 

On February 17, 2021 ArcelorMittal announced that Asturias had completed its coke-oven gas injection project for Blast Furnace B in its Gijón plant, a strategic step to reduce CO2 emissions and operational costs, thanks to lower coke consumption.

 

On April 30, 2021, ArcelorMittal amended its $5.5bn Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF") to align with its sustainability and climate action strategy.

 

With India currently battling the second wave of COVID-19, and the number of cases rising each day, medical facilities have seen critical shortages in oxygen supplies. To help combat this, AM/NS India is providing emergency oxygen supplies, currently supplying 210 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen per day to the State of Gujarat from the company’s oxygen plant in Hazira, operated in partnership with INOX Air Products. AM/NS India has also undertaken a vaccination drive for all medical and paramedical staff near the plant in Gujarat, and a new programme to vaccinate all employees of AM/NS India is now underway. In addition, the Company has set up a 1000-bed COVID hospital near its Gujarat plant.

 

 

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Analysis of results for 1Q 2021 versus 4Q 2020 and 1Q 2020

 

Total steel shipments in 1Q 2021 were 16.5Mt, 4.6% lower as compared with 17.3Mt in 4Q 2020 (or 6.5% higher as compared with 15.5Mt in 4Q 20203 on a scope adjusted basis (i.e., excluding the shipments of ArcelorMittal USA, which was sold to Cleveland Cliffs on December 9, 2020), as economic activity continued to gradually recover. All segments experienced quarter-on-quarter shipment growth: Europe +5.2%, Brazil +11.4%, ACIS +9.3% and NAFTA +7.3% (scope adjusted basis). Total steel shipments in 1Q 2021 of 16.5Mt were similar to 1Q 2020 on a scope adjusted basis but with some clear regional differences: Europe -3.1%; NAFTA -0.8% (scope adjusted); ACIS -0.7%; Brazil +22.0%.

 

Sales in 1Q 2021 were $16.2 billion as compared to $14.2 billion for 4Q 2020 and $14.8 billion for 1Q 2020. As compared to 4Q 2020, the 14.2% increase in sales was primarily due to higher realized average steel selling prices (+17.8%) (continuing to capture the significant increase in global steel pricing with lag effects), and increased mining sales revenue (+12.8%) due to higher seaborne iron ore reference prices (+25.5%) offset in part by seasonally lower market-priced iron ore shipments (-7.6%) and by the impact of the ArcelorMittal USA disposal. Sales in 1Q 2021 were 9.1% higher as compared to 1Q 2020 primarily due to higher average steel selling prices (+24.8%), significantly higher seaborne iron ore reference prices (+86.1%) and higher market-priced iron ore shipments (+14.1%) offset by the impact of the AM USA disposal.

 

Depreciation for 1Q 2021 was lower at $601 million as compared to $711 million for 4Q 2020 and $771 million in 1Q 2020.

 

The FY 2021 depreciation expense is now expected to be approximately $2.6 billion (based on current exchange rates) down from the previous guidance of $2.7 billion.

 

Impairment expenses in 1Q 2021 were nil. Impairment expenses in 4Q 2020 were $331 million following the revised future cashflow expectations of plate assets in Europe. Impairment charges for 1Q 2020 were $92 million and related to the permanent closure of the coke plant in Florange (France), at the end of April 2020.

 

Operating income18 for 1Q 2021 was $2.6 billion as compared to $2.0 billion in 4Q 2020 and an operating loss of $353 million in 1Q 2020 (impacted by the impairments as discussed above). The increased operating income for 1Q 2021 as compared to 4Q 2020 reflects a positive price-cost effect in the steel business, improved steel shipments (on a scope adjusted basis) and improved mining performance driven by higher iron ore prices. Operating income in 4Q 2020 included $1.3 billion related to gain on the sale of ArcelorMittal USA5 partially offset by site restoration and termination charges related to the closure of the steel shop and blast furnace at Krakow (Poland). Operating loss in 1Q 2020 was impacted by $457 million of inventory related charges in NAFTA and Europe.

 

Income from associates, joint ventures and other investments14 for 1Q 2021 was $453 million as compared to $7 million for 4Q 2020 and $142 million in 1Q 2020. 1Q 2021 is significantly higher on account of improved results from AMNS India6, AMNS Calvert20 and other European investees. Additionally, 1Q 2021 includes dividend income from Erdemir of $89 million. Income in 4Q 2020 was affected by $211 million impairment of the Company's investment in DHS (Germany).

 

Net interest expense (interest expense less interest income) in 1Q 2021 was broadly stable at $91 million as compared to $88 million in 4Q 2020 and lower as compared to $115 million in 1Q 2020, mainly due to savings following the repayments of bonds. The Company continues to expect full year 2021 net interest expense to be approximately $0.3 billion.

 

Foreign exchange and other net financing losses (revaluation of financial instruments, net foreign exchange income/expense (i.e., the net effects of transactions in a foreign currency other than the functional currency of a subsidiary) and other net financing costs (which mainly include bank fees, accretion of defined benefit and long-term liabilities, revaluation of derivative instruments and other charges that cannot be directly linked to operating results)) in 1Q 2021 were $194 million as compared to losses of $270 million in 4Q 2020 and losses of $451 million in 1Q 2020. Foreign exchange loss in 1Q 2021 of $118 million as compared to $78 million gain in 4Q 2020 and $111 million loss for 1Q 2020. 1Q 2021 includes immaterial non-cash mark-to-market gain related to the mandatory convertible bonds call option as compared to a gain of $59 million in 4Q 2020 and a loss of $118 million in 1Q 2020. 4Q 2020 also included $178 million non-cash expenses related to the extension of the mandatory convertible bond. 1Q 2020 also included early bond redemption premium expenses of $66 million.

 

 

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ArcelorMittal recorded an income tax expense of $404 million in 1Q 2021 as compared to $358 million for 4Q 2020 and $340 million for 1Q 2020.

 

ArcelorMittal recorded net income for 1Q 2021 of $2,285 million ($1.94 basic earnings per common share), as compared to net income of $1,207 million for 4Q 2020 ($1.01 basic earnings per common share), and a net loss of $1,120 million for 1Q 2020 ($1.11 basic loss per common share).

 

 

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Analysis of segment operations

 

Following the Company’s steps to streamline and optimize the business, primary responsibility for captive mining operations will be moved to the Steel segments. The Mining segment will retain primary responsibility for the operation of the seaborne oriented operations at ArcelorMittal Mines Canada (AMMC)7 and Liberia, and will continue to provide technical support to all mining operations within the Group.

 

As a result, effective 2Q 2021, ArcelorMittal will amend its presentation of reportable segments to reflect this organizational change, as required by IFRS. Only the seaborne-oriented operations of AMMC and Liberia will be reported within the Mining segment to be renamed Seaborne Iron Ore. The results of the other mines will be henceforth accounted for within the steel segments that the mines supply.

 

NAFTA

 

(USDm) unless otherwise shown   1Q 21     4Q 20     3Q 20     2Q 20     1Q 20  
Sales     2,536       3,196       3,329       2,768       4,304  
Operating income / (loss)     176       1,507       607       (327 )     (120 )
Depreciation     (57 )     (61 )     (126 )     (136 )     (126 )
Impairment items                 660              
Crude steel production (kt)     2,175       4,180       4,432       3,698       5,503  
Steel shipments (kt)     2,511       4,134       4,435       3,797       5,536  
Average steel selling price (US$/t)     850       714       701       670       715  

 

NAFTA segment crude steel production decreased by 48.0% to 2.2Mt in 1Q 2021, as compared to 4.2Mt in 4Q 2020 following the sale of ArcelorMittal USA to Cleveland Cliffs on December 9, 2020. On a scope adjusted basis (i.e. excluding ArcelorMittal USA), crude steel production increased by 5.5% to 2.2Mt as compared to 2.1Mt in 4Q 2020 following the improvement in demand.

 

Steel shipments in 1Q 2021 decreased by 39.3% to 2.5Mt, as compared to 4.1Mt in 4Q 2020, on account of the sale of ArcelorMittal USA. On a scope adjusted basis, steel shipments in 1Q 2021 increased by 7.3% to 2.5Mt as compared to 2.3Mt in 4Q 2020 following the improvement in demand. Steel shipments were 54.7% lower in 1Q 2021 as compared to 5.5Mt in 1Q 2020 but stable on a scope adjusted basis.

 

Sales in 1Q 2021 decreased by 20.6% to $2.5 billion, as compared to $3.2 billion in 4Q 2020, primarily due to the decrease in steel shipments (as discussed above including the scope impact) offset in part by a 19.1% increase in average steel selling prices.

 

Operating income in 1Q 2021 was $176 million as compared to $1,507 million in 4Q 2020 and an operating loss of $120 million in 1Q 2020. 4Q 2020 operating income included a $1.5 billion gain5 related to the sale of ArcelorMittal USA. Operating loss in 1Q 2020 included $241 million primarily due to inventory related charges recorded due to a weaker steel pricing outlook driven by COVID-19 impacts. Operating income in Q1 2021 compared to 4Q 2020 reflected a positive price-cost effect and +7.3% higher shipment volumes (on a scope adjusted basis, excluding ArcelorMittal USA shipments from the prior period). Operating income in 1Q 2021 was also negatively impacted primarily by disruption in our Mexican operations linked to the severe weather experienced in Texas in February. Operating income in 1Q 2021 compared to 1Q 2020 also reflected the impact of the sale of ArcelorMittal USA largely offset by a positive price-cost effect.

 

 

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Brazil

 

(USDm) unless otherwise shown   1Q 21     4Q 20     3Q 20     2Q 20     1Q 20  
Sales     2,510       1,884       1,603       1,192       1,592  
Operating income     698       290       197       117       150  
Depreciation     (52 )     (49 )     (55 )     (51 )     (69 )
Crude steel production (kt)     3,034       2,868       2,300       1,692       2,679  
Steel shipments (kt)     2,868       2,575       2,425       2,059       2,351  
Average steel selling price (US$/t)     837       702       625       550       642  

 

Brazil segment crude steel production increased by 5.8% to 3.0Mt in 1Q 2021 as compared to 2.9Mt for 4Q 2020 with increases in both flat (following the restart of BF#3 at ArcelorMittal Tubarao in 4Q 2020) and long products given the continued recovery in demand.

 

Steel shipments in 1Q 2021 increased by 11.4% to 2.9Mt as compared to 2.6Mt in 4Q 2020, with a 14.3% increase in flat product shipments (both domestic and exports), and higher long products shipments (up +8.1%). Steel shipments were 22.0% higher in 1Q 2021 as compared to 2.4Mt in 1Q 2020 due to both higher flat and long products.

 

Sales in 1Q 2021 increased by 33.2% to $2.5 billion as compared to $1.9 billion in 4Q 2020, following a 11.4% increase in steel shipments and a 19.2% increase in average steel selling prices.

 

Operating income in 1Q 2021 of $698 million was higher as compared to $290 million in 4Q 2020, primarily due to a positive price-cost effect and higher steel shipments. Operating income in 1Q 2021 was significantly higher compared to $150 million in 1Q 2020 primarily due to a positive price-cost effect and higher steel shipments.

 

Europe

 

(USDm) unless otherwise shown   1Q 21     4Q 20     3Q 20     2Q 20     1Q 20  
Sales     9,355       7,604       7,013       5,800       7,654  
Operating income /(loss)     599       (447 )     (342 )     (229 )     (426 )
Depreciation     (299 )     (355 )     (356 )     (355 )     (347 )
Impairment items           (331 )     (104 )           (92 )
Crude steel production (kt)     9,697       9,110       7,908       7,074       9,912  
Steel shipments (kt)     9,013       8,569       8,187       6,817       9,300  
Average steel selling price (US$/t)     813       695       651       633       638  

 

Europe segment crude steel production increased by 6.4% to 9.7Mt in 1Q 2021 as compared to 9.1Mt in 4Q 2020 as demand and activity levels improved, including automotive, industrial production and manufacturing activity. In March 2021, the Company restarted BF#B at Ghent, Belgium following a planned major reline.

 

Steel shipments in 1Q 2021 improved by 5.2% to 9.0Mt as compared to 8.6Mt in 4Q 2020 driven by higher flat steel shipments (+6.5%) and long products (+2.0%). Steel shipments were 3.1% lower in 1Q 2021 as compared to 9.3Mt in 1Q 2020 (with lower flat steel shipments offset in part by higher long steel products).

 

Sales in 1Q 2021 were $9.4 billion, 23.0% higher as compared to $7.6 billion in 4Q 2020, primarily due to higher shipment volumes (as discussed above) and 17.0% higher average selling prices (flat products +17.4% and long products +17.2%).

 

 

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Impairment charges for 1Q 2021 were nil. Impairment charges of $331 million in 4Q 2020 related to the revised future cash flow expectations of plate assets and impairment charges of $92 million in 1Q 2020 related to the permanent closure of the coke plant in Florange, France, which closed in April 2020.

 

Operating income in 1Q 2021 was $599 million as compared to an operating loss in 4Q 2020 of $447 million and an operating loss of $426 million in 1Q 2020. Results for 4Q 2020 were impacted by $146 million related to site restoration and termination charges following the closure of the blast furnace and the steel plant in Krakow (Poland). Results for 1Q 2020 were impacted by $191 million of inventory related charges due to a weaker steel pricing outlook driven by COVID-19 impacts. Operating income in 1Q 2021 was significantly higher as compared to 4Q 2020, primarily due to a positive price-cost effect and higher steel shipment volumes, and as compared to 1Q 2020, primarily due to a positive price-cost effect offset in part by lower steel shipments.

 

ACIS

 

(USDm) unless otherwise shown   1Q 21     4Q 20     3Q 20     2Q 20     1Q 20  
Sales     2,009       1,477       1,400       1,184       1,446  
Operating income / (loss)     472       177       37       (70 )     (60 )
Depreciation     (74 )     (89 )     (82 )     (75 )     (86 )
Crude steel production (kt)     2,683       2,673       2,544       1,956       2,998  
Steel shipments (kt)     2,595       2,373       2,499       2,395       2,614  
Average steel selling price (US$/t)     647       511       465       408       471  

 

ACIS segment crude steel production in 1Q 2021 was stable at 2.7Mt as compared to 4Q 2020. Crude steel production in 1Q 2021 was 10.5% lower as compared to 3.0Mt in 1Q 2020 primarily in South Africa, including the scope impact of the permanent closure of the Saldanha facility (in 1Q 2020).

 

Steel shipments in 1Q 2021 increased by 9.3% to 2.6Mt as compared to 2.4Mt as at 4Q 2020, mainly due to the recovery in demand in South Africa and improved Kazakhstan volume, primarily due to timing of export shipments postponed from 4Q 2020.

 

Sales in 1Q 2021 increased by 36% to $2.0 billion as compared to $1.5 billion in 4Q 2020, primarily due to higher average steel selling prices (+26.6%) and higher steel shipments (+9.3%).

 

Operating income in 1Q 2021 was $472 million as compared to $177 million in 4Q 2020, primarily due to positive price-cost effect and higher steel shipments. Operating income in 1Q 2021 was significantly higher compared to an operating loss of $60 million in 1Q 2020, primarily due to positive price-cost effects.

 

Mining

 

(USDm) unless otherwise shown   1Q 21     4Q 20     3Q 20     2Q 20     1Q 20  
Sales     1,690       1,499       1,200       1,064       990  
Operating income     964       579       382       282       168  
Depreciation     (110 )     (148 )     (114 )     (109 )     (129 )
                                         
Own iron ore production (Mt)     13.3       15.3       14.8       13.5       14.4  
Iron ore shipped externally and internally at market price (a) (Mt)     9.8       10.6       9.8       9.2       8.6  
Iron ore shipment - cost plus basis (Mt)     3.8       5.2       5.0       4.8       4.8  

 

(a) Iron ore shipments of market-priced based materials include the Company’s own mines and share of production at other mines.

 

Given the sale of ArcelorMittal USA, the Company is no longer presenting coal production and shipments in its earnings releases.

 

 

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Own iron ore production in 1Q 2021 decreased by 13.2% to 13.3Mt as compared to 15.3Mt in 4Q 2020 primarily due to the sale of Hibbing and Minorca iron ore mines which were sold as part of the ArcelorMittal USA disposal to Cleveland Cliffs on December 9, 2020. On a scope adjusted basis, own iron ore production decreased 4.5% primarily due to lower production at ArcelorMittal Mines Canada (AMMC)7. Own iron ore production in 1Q 2021 decreased by 7.8% to 13.3Mt as compared to 14.4Mt in 1Q 2020. Adjusted for the scope effect of the ArcelorMittal USA sale, own iron ore production in 1Q 2021 of 13.3Mt increased by 5.6% as compared to 12.6Mt in 1Q 2020 primarily due to higher production at AMMC.

 

Market-priced iron ore shipments in 1Q 2021 decreased by 7.6% to 9.8Mt as compared to 10.6Mt in 4Q 2020, primarily driven by lower shipments in Liberia and a seasonal decline in AMMC. Market-priced iron ore shipments in 1Q 2021 were 14.1% higher as compared to 1Q 2020 reflecting higher production and shipment levels in particular at AMMC which were impacted by COVID-19 restrictions in March 2020. FY 2021 market priced iron ore shipments are expected to increase to approximately 39Mt.

 

Operating income in 1Q 2021 increased to $964 million as compared to $579 million in 4Q 2020, reflecting the positive impact of higher seaborne market prices (+25.5%) and higher quality premia offset in part by seasonally lower market-priced iron ore shipments (-7.6%). Operating income in 1Q 2021 increased significantly compared to $168 million in 1Q 2020, primarily due to higher market-priced iron ore shipments (+14.1%), and higher seaborne iron ore reference prices (+86.1%).

 

 

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Net cash provided by operating activities for 1Q 2021 was $997 million as compared to $1,416 million in 4Q 2020 and $594 million in 1Q 2020. Net cash provided by operating activities in 1Q 2021 includes a working capital investment of $1,634 million (composed of an outflow for trade accounts receivable of $1,557 million, an outflow for inventories of $1,588 million and an inflow for trade accounts payable and other of $1,511 million) reflecting the seasonal effect, as well as higher activity and pricing levels, as compared to a working capital release of $925 million in 4Q 2020 (composed of an outflow for trade accounts receivable of $152 million, an outflow for inventories of $604 million and an inflow for trade accounts payable and other of $1,681 million) and small investment of $109 million in 1Q 2020 (which was low due to cash conservation measures taken plus a reduction in activity levels with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and was composed of an outflow for trade accounts receivable of $201 million, an inflow for inventories of $257 million and an outflow for trade accounts payable and other of $165 million). Working capital needs in 2021 will be determined by the operating conditions towards the end of the year. We remain focused on maintaining the working capital efficiencies achieved in recent periods and keeping rotation days consistent with the levels in 2020.

 

Net cash provided by investing activities during 1Q 2021 was $268 million as compared to net cash used in investing activities of $406 million during 4Q 2020 and $755 million in 1Q 2020. Capital expenditures were $619 million in 1Q 2021 compared to $668 million in 4Q 2020 and $850 million in 1Q 2020.

 

The delay in the first investment by Invitalia under the investment agreement resulted in the Company consolidating the capital expenditures of ArcelorMittal Italia longer than previously anticipated. As a result, the Company expects FY 2021 capital expenditures to be $2.9 billion (vs. the original FY 2021 capital expenditures guidance of $2.8 billion).

 

Net cash provided by other investing activities in 1Q 2021 of $887 million as compared to $262 million in 4Q 2020 and $95 million in 1Q 2020. 1Q 2021 cash inflow primarily relates to $645 million cash received from the sale of 40 million Cleveland Cliffs shares and the recovery of the cash collateral (short-term deposits) for the TSR receivables retained in ArcelorMittal USA after its disposal. 4Q 2020 cash inflow relates to $0.5 billion proceeds from the sale of ArcelorMittal USA offset in part by an investment in short term deposits as discussed above. Net cash provided by other investing activities in 1Q 2020 of $95 million included $127 million from the sale of the 50% stake in Global Chartering Limited (GCL)8 offset in part by the revised quarterly lease payment under the amended ArcelorMittal Italia agreement signed in March 2020.

 

Net cash used in financing activities in 1Q 2021 was $1,388 million as compared to $2,227 million in 4Q 2020 and $386 million in 1Q 2020. In 1Q 2021, net cash used in financing activities includes an outflow of $0.6 billion primarily related to $0.3 billion decrease of commercial paper portfolio. In 4Q 2020, net cash used in financing activities included an outflow of $1.5 billion primarily related to: bonds repurchased, reimbursement of the Schuldschein, and a decrease of commercial paper portfolio. Net cash used in financing activities in 1Q 2020 included a net outflow primarily related to the make whole redemption of the remaining outstanding amount ($659 million) of its 6.250% Notes due February 25, 2022.

 

 

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On March 4, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced that it had completed the $650 million share buyback program launched on February 15, 2021 using the proceeds from the partial sell down of its common equity stake in Cleveland Cliffs and by market close of March 3, 2021 had repurchased 27,113,321 shares for a total value of approximately €537 million (equivalent to $650 million) at an average price per share of €19.79. All details are available on the Company’s website at: https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/investors/equity-investors/share-buyback-program. At the same time, the Company also announced the commencement of a second share buyback program for an aggregate amount of $570 million, in-line with the Company’s new capital returns policy published on February 11, 2021 linked to surplus cash flows generated in 2020. This share buyback program is ongoing and will be completed by December 31, 2021.

 

During 1Q 2021 the Company paid dividends of $65 million to minority shareholders of AMMC and Bekaert (Brazil) as compared to $16 million in 4Q 2020 to minority shareholders in Bekaert (Brazil) and $103 million mainly to minority shareholders of AMMC in 1Q 2020.

 

Outflows from lease payments and other financing activities (net) were $49 million in 1Q 2021 and $218 million for 4Q 2020 (which included $135 million paid to Banca Intesa16).

 

Gross debt decreased by $0.9 billion to $11.4 billion as of March 31, 2021, as compared to $12.3 billion as of December 31, 2020 and $13.8 billion as of March 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2021, net debt decreased to $5.9 billion as compared to $6.4 billion as of December 31, 2020, driven by cash flows and a $0.2 billion foreign exchange impact following a 4.4% appreciation of USD versus EUR and was $3.6 billion lower than net debt of $9.5 billion as of March 31, 2020.

 

As of March 31, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents and restricted funds of $5.5 billion ($6.0 billion as of December 31, 2020 and $4.3 billion as of March 31, 2020) and $5.5 billion of available credit lines10.

 

As of March 31, 2021, the average debt maturity was 5.3 years.

 

Key recent developments

 

On April 30, 2021, ArcelorMittal amended its $5.5bn Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF") to align with its sustainability and climate action strategy. Under the amended RCF – the largest ESG linked facility of its kind in the metals and mining sector - the margin payable will be increased or decreased depending on ArcelorMittal’s performance against certain metrics related to its environmental and sustainability performance. The metrics measured include the CO2 intensity of ArcelorMittal’s European operations and the number of ArcelorMittal facilities globally which have been certified by ResponsibleSteel™ by the end of each year.

 

In addition, it has been agreed that the leverage ratio financial covenant currently contained in the RCF will fall away in the event that ArcelorMittal obtains an investment grade long-term credit rating (with a stable outlook) from two rating agencies. The RCF was signed on December 18, 2018 and remains undrawn and available for the Group’s general corporate purposes. Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank acted as ESG coordinator.

 

On April 14, 2021, pursuant to the investment agreement of December 10, 2020 forming a public-private partnership between Invitalia, an Italian state-owned company, and AM InvestCo Italy (ArcelorMittal’s subsidiary party to the lease and purchase agreement for the Ilva business), Invitalia invested $400 million of new equity into AM InvestCo Italy, providing it with a 38% shareholding with equal governance rights over the company9, 13. Going forward, Acciaierie d’Italia Holding (the new name of AM InvestCo Italy) will operate independently, and as such will have its own funding plans. As a result, ArcelorMittal will deconsolidate the assets and liabilities (including the remaining lease and purchase liability of €1.0 billion ($1.2 billion) and a cash balance of $0.2 billion) of Acciaierie d’Italia Holding from its consolidated statement of financial position and will account for its interest in the company under the equity method from 2Q 2021 onwards.

 

 

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On March 29, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced conceptual plans to build a large-scale industrial plant for the direct reduction of iron ore (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF)-based steelmaking at its site in Bremen, as well as an innovative DRI pilot plant in addition to an electric arc furnace (EAF) in Eisenhüttenstadt, following the announcement of the planned expansion of Germany’s hydrogen infrastructure. Using green hydrogen, up to 3.5Mt of steel could be produced by the Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt sites by 2030, with significantly lower CO2 emissions. Depending on the amount of hydrogen available, CO2 savings of more than 5Mt could be possible. The technology conversion requires investments in the range of €1-1.5 billion. In Germany, the group already operates Europe’s only DRI-EAF plant in Hamburg, where the switch to using hydrogen instead of natural gas in the iron ore reduction process is being prepared. The objective is to reach industrial commercial maturity of the technology by 2025, initially producing 100,000 tonnes of sponge iron a year.

 

On March 26, 2021, Fitch Ratings announced that it had revised ArcelorMittal's Outlook to Positive from Negative while affirming the Company's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured ratings at 'BB+'.

 

On March 17, 2021, Air Liquide and ArcelorMittal signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the objective of implementing solutions to produce low-carbon steel in Dunkirk. The two companies are joining forces to transform the steel production process through the development of innovative solutions involving low-carbon hydrogen and CO2 capture technologies. This partnership is the first step towards the creation of a new low-carbon hydrogen and CO2 capture technologies ecosystem in this major industrial basin. The project will reduce yearly CO2 emissions from ArcelorMittal’s steel-making facilities in Dunkirk by 2.85Mt by 2030. Air Liquide and ArcelorMittal have jointly applied for large projects funding under the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) scheme for hydrogen. Funding from European and/or French schemes supporting decarbonization is key to the implementation of the project.

 

On March 17, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced the launch of its first three XCarb™ initiatives, as part of the Company’s journey to deliver on its 2050 net zero commitment. XCarb™ will ultimately 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. To support its launch, ArcelorMittal announced three XCarb™ branded initiatives:

 

‘XCarb™ green steel certificates’, which will enable us to support our customers as they seek to reduce their Scope 3 emissions. CO2 savings achieved through technology investments at ArcelorMittal Europe - Flat Products operations are aggregated, independently assured, and then converted into XCarb™ green steel certificates12 which customers can attach to their physical orders of steel, enabling them to report a reduction in their Scope 3 carbon emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. The Company anticipates it will have 600,000 tonnes of equivalent green steel tonnes available by the end of 2022.

 

‘XCarb™ recycled and renewably produced’ has been designed for products made via the Electric Arc Furnace (‘EAF’) route using scrap steel. Recycled and renewably produced means that the physical steel was made with recycled material (scrap) using renewable electricity, giving it an extremely low CO2 footprint that can be as low as approximately 300kg of CO2 per tonne of finished steel when the metallics are 100% scrap. This customer offer is for both flat and long products. The electricity used in the steelmaking process is independently verified, with a ‘Guarantee of Origin’ given that it is from renewable sources.

 

 

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‘XCarb™ innovation fund’: ArcelorMittal has launched an innovation fund which will invest up to $100 million annually in groundbreaking companies developing pioneering or breakthrough technologies that will accelerate the steel industry’s transition to carbon neutral steelmaking. To be eligible for funding, companies will have to be developing commercially scaleable technologies which support ArcelorMittal on its journey to decarbonise. The ‘XCarb™ innovation fund’ will invest in a diversified portfolio of companies to ensure it captures the best and most important technologies under development.

 

On February 17, 2021, ArcelorMittal announced that Asturias had completed its coke-oven gas injection project for Blast Furnace B in its Gijón plant, a strategic step to reduce CO2 emissions and operational costs, thanks to lower coke consumption. This smart carbon approach, allows gases from various sources to be injected into the blast furnace. The injection of coke-oven gas, with high hydrogen content, is an effective and cost-efficient method that enables steel producers to reduce CO2 emissions immediately. ArcelorMittal Asturias has completed the most advanced project in the Company, linked to the use of coke-oven gas, and has initiated the injection of grey hydrogen (hydrogen recovered from various gases, including natural gas and coke-oven gas) into Blast Furnace B.

 

On February 11, 2021, S&P Ratings agency announced that it had revised ArcelorMittal's outlook to stable on likely strong recovery in 2021; 'BBB-/A-3' Ratings Affirmed.

 

Outlook

 

Economic activity has progressively improved during 1Q 2021, with a favorable supply demand balance and a low inventory environment following a period of prolonged destocking, supporting increased utilization levels and healthy steel spreads (currently at multi-year high), and the Company now expects apparent steel consumption (“ASC”) in 2021 to be at or above the upper end of the ranges presented at time of the 4Q 2021 results in February 2021.

 

ArcelorMittal expects global apparent steel consumption (“ASC”) in 2021 to grow between +4.5% to +5.5%. By region:

 

In the US, ASC is expected to grow within a range of +10.0% to +12.0% in 2021, with stronger ASC in flat products particularly automotive while construction demand (non-residential) remains weak.

 

In Europe, ASC is expected to grow within a range of +7.5% to +9.5% in 2021; with strong automotive demand expected to recover from low levels and continued support for infrastructure and residential demand.

 

In Brazil, ASC is expected to continue to expand in 2021 with growth expected in the range of +6.0% to +8.0% supported by ongoing construction demand and recovery in the end markets for flat steel. In the CIS, ASC growth in 2021 is expected to recover to within a range of +4.0% to +6.0%.

 

In India, ASC growth in 2021 is expected to recover to within a range of +16% to +18%.

 

As a result, overall World ex-China ASC in 2021 is expected to grow within the range of +8.5% to +9.5% supported by a strong rebound in India.

 

In China, overall demand is expected to continue to grow in 2021 to +1.0% to +3.0% (supported by ongoing stimulus).

 

 

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ArcelorMittal Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position1

 

In millions of U.S. dollars  

Mar 31,

2021

   

Dec 31,

2020

   

Mar 31,

2020

 
ASSETS                  
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted funds     5,474       5,963       4,298  
Trade accounts receivable and other     3,783       3,072       3,456  
Inventories     13,228       12,328       15,626  
Prepaid expenses and other current assets     3,160       2,281       2,551  
Asset held for sale11     4,854       4,329        
Total Current Assets     30,499       27,973       25,931  
                         
Goodwill and intangible assets     4,212       4,312       4,911  
Property, plant and equipment     29,498       30,622       33,522  
Investments in associates and joint ventures     7,205       6,817       6,334  
Deferred tax assets     7,831       7,866       8,669  
Other assets15     4,404       4,462       1,961  
Total Assets     83,649       82,052       81,328  
                         
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY                        
Short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt     2,813       2,507       3,147  
Trade accounts payable and other     12,231       11,525       11,968  
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities     5,729       5,596       5,645  
Liabilities held for sale11     3,271       3,039        
Total Current Liabilities     24,044       22,667       20,760  
                         
Long-term debt, net of current portion     8,552       9,815       10,650  
Deferred tax liabilities     1,812       1,832       2,075  
Other long-term liabilities     7,259       7,501       11,820  
Total Liabilities     41,667       41,815       45,305  
                         
Equity attributable to the equity holders of the parent     40,000       38,280       34,249  
Non-controlling interests     1,982       1,957       1,774  
Total Equity     41,982       40,237       36,023  
Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity     83,649       82,052       81,328  

 

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ArcelorMittal Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations1

 

    Three months ended  
In millions of U.S. dollars unless otherwise shown  

Mar 31,

2021

   

Dec 31,

2020

   

Sept 30,

2020

   

Jun 30,

2020

   

Mar 31,

2020

 
Sales     16,193       14,184       13,266       10,976       14,844  
Depreciation     (601 )     (711 )     (739 )     (739 )     (771 )
Impairment items4           (331 )     556             (92 )
Operating income / (loss)     2,641       1,998       718       (253 )     (353 )
Operating margin %     16.3 %     14.1 %     5.4 %     (2.3 )%     (2.4 )%
                                         
Income / (loss) from associates, joint ventures and other investments     453       7       100       (15 )     142  
Net interest expense     (91 )     (88 )     (106 )     (112 )     (115 )
Foreign exchange and other net financing (loss) / gain     (194 )     (270 )     (150 )     36       (451 )
Income / (loss) before taxes and non-controlling interests     2,809       1,647       562       (344 )     (777 )
 Current tax expense     (569 )     (373 )     (204 )     (100 )     (162 )
 Deferred tax benefit / (expense)     165       15       (580 )     (84 )     (178 )
Income tax expense     (404 )     (358 )     (784 )     (184 )     (340 )
Income / (loss) including non-controlling interests     2,405       1,289       (222 )     (528 )     (1,117 )
Non-controlling interests income     (120 )     (82 )     (39 )     (31 )     (3 )
Net income / (loss) attributable to equity holders of the parent     2,285       1,207       (261 )     (559 )     (1,120 )
                                         
Basic earnings / (loss) per common share ($)     1.94       1.01       (0.21 )     (0.50 )     (1.11 )
Diluted earnings / (loss) per common share ($)     1.93       1.00       (0.21 )     (0.50 )     (1.11 )
                                         
Weighted average common shares outstanding (in millions)     1,178       1,199       1,228       1,119       1,012  
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding (in millions)     1,183       1,204       1,228       1,119       1,012  
                                         
OTHER INFORMATION                                        
Own iron ore production (Mt)     13.3       15.3       14.8       13.5       14.4  
Crude steel production (Mt)     17.6       18.8       17.2       14.4       21.1  
Steel shipments (Mt)     16.5       17.3       17.5       14.8       19.5  

 

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ArcelorMittal Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash flows1

 

    Three months ended  
In millions of U.S. dollars  

Mar 31,

2021

   

Dec 31,

2020

   

Sept 30,

2020

   

Jun 30,

2020

   

Mar 31,

2020

 
Operating activities:                                        
Income /(loss) attributable to equity holders of the parent     2,285       1,207       (261 )     (559 )     (1,120 )
Adjustments to reconcile net income/ (loss) to net cash provided by operations:                                        
Non-controlling interests income     120       82       39       31       3  
Depreciation and impairment items4     601       1,042       183       739       863  
(Income) / loss from associates, joint ventures and other investments     (453 )     (7 )     (100 )     15       (142 )
Deferred tax (benefit) / expense     (165 )     (15 )     580       84       178  
Change in trade accounts receivable (A)     (1,557 )     (152 )     (141 )     418       (201 )
Change in inventories (B)     (1,588 )     (604 )     890       1,243       257  
Change in trade and other accounts payable (C)     1,511       1,681       323       (2,053 )     (165 )
Other operating activities (net)4, 5     243       (1,818 )     257       384       921  
Net cash provided by operating activities     997       1,416       1,770       302       594  
Investing activities:                                        
Purchase of property, plant and equipment and intangibles     (619 )     (668 )     (520 )     (401 )     (850 )
Other investing activities (net)     887       262       34       37       95  
Net cash provided by / (used in) investing activities     268       (406 )     (486 )     (364 )     (755 )
Financing activities:                                        
Net (payments) relating to payable to banks and long-term debt     (624 )     (1,506 )     (270 )     (395 )     (224 )
Dividends paid to minorities     (65 )     (16 )     (55 )     (7 )     (103 )
Share buyback     (650 )     (487 )     (13 )            
Common share offering                       740        
Proceeds from Mandatorily Convertible Notes                       1,237        
Lease payments and other financing activities (net)     (49 )     (218 )     (63 )     (59 )     (59 )
Net cash (used in) / provided by financing activities     (1,388 )     (2,227 )     (401 )     1,516       (386 )
Net (decrease) / increase in cash and cash equivalents     (123 )     (1,217 )     883       1,454       (547 )
Cash and cash equivalents transferred (to) / from assets held for sale     (7 )     67       (70 )            
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash     (106 )     234       73       (13 )     (131 )
Change in cash and cash equivalents     (236 )     (916 )     886       1,441       (678 )
                                         
Change in working capital (A+B+C)     (1,634 )     925       1,072       (392 )     (109 )

 

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Appendix 1: Product shipments by region(1)

 

(000'kt)     1Q 21       4Q 20       3Q 20       2Q 20       1Q 20  
Flat       1,822       3,462       3,779       3,328       4,853  
Long       785       807       746       485       846  
NAFTA       2,511       4,134       4,435       3,797       5,536  
Flat       1,513       1,324       1,047       1,074       1,277  
Long       1,370       1,268       1,393       994       1,085  
Brazil       2,868       2,575       2,425       2,059       2,351  
Flat       6,613       6,210       6,025       4,649       7,023  
Long       2,290       2,246       2,080       2,054       2,170  
Europe       9,013       8,569       8,187       6,817       9,300  
CIS       2,035       1,912       1,914       2,032       1,827  
Africa       560       458       585       361       786  
ACIS       2,595       2,373       2,499       2,395       2,614  

Note: “Others and eliminations” are not presented in the table

 

Appendix 2a: Capital expenditures(1)

 

(USDm)     1Q 21     4Q 20     3Q 20     2Q 20     1Q 20  
NAFTA       58       66       81       107       205  
Brazil       46       64       48       29       67  
Europe       342       326       222       168       323  
ACIS       70       88       68       46       122  
Mining       97       111       92       46       121  
Total       619       668       520       401       850  

Note: “Others” are not presented in the table

 

Appendix 2b: Capital expenditure projects

 

The following tables summarize the Company’s principal growth and optimization projects involving significant capital expenditures.

 

Completed projects in the past year

Segment     Site / unit   Project   Capacity / details   Completion
ACIS     ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Ukraine)   New LF&CC 2   Facilities upgrade to switch from ingot to continuous caster route. Additional billets of up to 145kt over ingot route through yield increase   1Q 2020

 

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Ongoing projects

Segment     Site / unit   Project   Capacity / details   Key date /
forecast
completion
NAFTA     Mexico   New Hot strip mill   Production capacity of 2.5Mt/year   2021 (a)
NAFTA     ArcelorMittal Dofasco (Canada)   Hot strip mill modernization   Replace existing three end of life coilers with two state of the art coilers and new runout tables   1H 2022 (b)
NAFTA     ArcelorMittal Dofasco (Canada)   #5 CGL conversion to AluSi®   Addition of up to 160kt/year Aluminum Silicon (AluSi®) coating capability to #5 Hot-Dip Galvanizing Line for the production of Usibor® steels   2H 2022 (c)
Brazil     ArcelorMittal Vega Do Sul   Expansion project   Increase hot dipped / cold rolled coil capacity and construction of a new 700kt continuous annealing line (CAL) and continuous galvanising line (CGL) combiline   4Q 2023 (d)
Mining     Liberia   Phase 2 premium product expansion project   Increase production capacity to 15Mt/year   4Q 2023 (e)
Brazil     Juiz de Fora   Melt shop expansion   Increase in melt shop capacity by 0.2Mt/year   On hold (f)
Brazil     Monlevade   Sinter plant, blast furnace and melt shop   Increase in liquid steel capacity by 1.2Mt/year;   On hold (f)

 

a) On September 28, 2017, ArcelorMittal announced a major $1.0 billion investment programme at its Mexican operations, which is focused on building ArcelorMittal Mexico’s downstream capabilities, sustaining the competitiveness of its mining operations and modernizing its existing asset base. The programme is designed to enable ArcelorMittal Mexico to meet the anticipated increased demand requirements from domestic customers, realize in full ArcelorMittal Mexico’s production capacity of 5.3 million tonnes and significantly enhance the proportion of higher added-value products in its product mix. The main investment will be the construction of a new hot strip mill. Upon completion, the project will enable ArcelorMittal Mexico to produce c. 2.5 million tonnes of flat rolled steel, long steel c.1.5Mt and the remainder made up of semi-finished slabs. Coils from the new hot strip mill will be supplied to domestic, non-auto, general industry customers. The hot strip mill project commenced late 4Q 2017 and is expected to be completed at the end of 2021 (with capital expenditures of approximately $0.2 billion in 2021).

 

b) Investment in ArcelorMittal Dofasco (Canada) to modernize the hot strip mill. The project is to install two new state of the art coilers and runout tables to replace three end of life coilers. The strip cooling system will be upgraded and include innovative power cooling technology to improve product capability. The project is now expected to be completed in 1H 2022.

 

c) Investment to replace #5 Hot-Dip Galvanizing Line Galvanneal coating capability with 160kt/year Aluminum Silicon (AluSi®) capability for the production of ArcelorMittal’s patented Usibor® Press Hardenable Steel for automotive structural and safety components. With the investment, ArcelorMittal Dofasco will become the only Canadian producer of AluSi® coated Usibor®. This investment complements additional strategic North America developments, including a new EAF and caster at AM/NS Calvert in the US and a new hot strip mill in Mexico, and will allow to capitalize on increasing Auto Aluminized PHS demand in North America. The project is expected to be completed in 2022, with the first coil planned for 2H 2022.

 

d) In February 2021, ArcelorMittal announced the resumption of the Vega Do Sul expansion to provide an additional 700kt of cold-rolled annealed and galvanized capacity to serve the growing domestic market. The ~$0.35 billion investment programme to increase rolling capacity with construction of a new continuous annealing line and CGL combiline (and the option to add a ca. 100kt organic coating line to serve construction and appliance segments), and upon completion, will strengthen ArcelorMittal’s position in the fast growing automotive and industry markets through Advanced High Strength Steel products. The investments will look to facilitate a wide range of products and applications whilst further optimizing current ArcelorMittal Vega facilities to maximize site capacity and its competitiveness, considering comprehensive digital and automation technology. The project is expected to be completed in 4Q 2023.

 

e) ArcelorMittal Liberia has been operating a 5Mt direct shipping ore (DSO) since 2011 (Phase 1). In 2013, the Company had started construction of a Phase 2 project that envisaged the construction of 15 million tonnes of concentrate sinter fines capacity and associated infrastructure; this project was then suspended due to the onset of Ebola in West Africa and the subsequent force-majeure declaration by the onsite contracting companies. ArcelorMittal Liberia has now completed the revised detailed feasibility study (which was updated in 2019 to apply best available technology and replace wet with dry stack tailings treatment) for the modular build of a 15 million tonne concentrator (Phase 2), with aligned mine, concentrator, rail and port capacity. The plan is now to recommence the project in 2021. Subject to a timely restart, first concentrate is expected in 4Q 2023. The capital expenditures required to conclude the project is expected to total approximately $0.8 billion as the project is effectively a brownfield opportunity given that 85% of the procurement has already been done (with the equipment on site) and 60% of the civil construction complete.

 

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f) Although the Monlevade wire rod expansion project and Juiz de Fora rebar expansion were completed in 2015, both the melt shop expansion (in Juiz de Fora) and the sinter plant, blast furnace and meltshop (in Monlevade) projects are currently on hold, but are being presently re-evaluated.

 

Appendix 3: Debt repayment schedule as of March 31, 2021

 

(USD billion)   2021     2022     2023     2024     2025     >2025     Total  
Bonds     0.3       0.6       1.3       1.9       1.1       2.4       7.6  
Commercial paper     0.8                                     0.8  
Other loans     1.0       0.3       0.7       0.2       0.2       0.6       3.0  
Total gross debt     2.1       0.9       2.0       2.1       1.3       3.0       11.4  

 

Appendix 4: Reconciliation of gross debt to net debt

 

(USD million)   Mar 31,
2021
    Dec 31,
2020
    Mar 31,
2020
 
Gross debt (excluding that held as part of the liabilities held for sale)     11,365       12,322       13,797  
Gross debt held as part of the liabilities held for sale     23       24        
Gross debt     11,388       12,346       13,797  
Less: Cash and cash equivalents and restricted funds     (5,474 )     (5,963 )     (4,298 )
Less: Cash and cash equivalents and restricted funds held as part of the assets held for sale     (10 )     (3 )      
Net debt (including that held as part of assets and the liabilities held for sale)     5,904       6,380       9,499  

 

Appendix 5: Terms and definitions

 

Unless indicated otherwise, or the context otherwise requires, references in this earnings release report to the following terms have the meanings set out next to them below:

 

Apparent steel consumption: calculated as the sum of production plus imports minus exports.

Average steel selling prices: calculated as steel sales divided by steel shipments.

Cash and cash equivalents and restricted funds: represents cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, restricted funds and short-term investments.

Capital expenditures: represents the purchase of property, plant and equipment and intangibles.

Crude steel production: steel in the first solid state after melting, suitable for further processing or for sale.

Foreign exchange and other net financing (loss): include foreign currency exchange impact, bank fees, interest on pensions, impairment of financial assets, revaluation of derivative instruments and other charges that cannot be directly linked to operating results.

Gross debt: long-term debt and short-term debt (including that held as part of the liabilities held for sale).

Impairment items: refers to impairment charges net of reversals.

LTIF: lost time injury frequency rate equals lost time injuries per 1,000,000 worked hours, based on own personnel and contractors.

Mt: refers to million metric tonnes.

Market-priced tonnes: represent amounts of iron ore from ArcelorMittal mines that could be sold to third parties on the open market. Market-priced tonnes that are not sold to third parties are transferred from the Mining segment to the Company’s steel producing segments and reported at the prevailing market price. Shipments of raw materials that do not constitute market-priced tonnes are transferred internally and reported on a cost-plus basis.

Mining segment sales: i) “External sales”: mined product sold to third parties at market price; ii) “Market-priced tonnes”: internal sales of mined product to ArcelorMittal facilities and reported at prevailing market prices; iii) “Cost-plus tonnes” - internal sales of mined product to ArcelorMittal facilities on a cost-plus basis. The determinant of whether internal sales are reported at market price or cost-plus is whether the raw material could practically be sold to third parties (i.e. there is a potential market for the product and logistics exist to access that market).

 

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Net debt: long-term debt and short-term debt less cash and cash equivalents and restricted funds (including those held as part of assets and liabilities held for sale).

Net interest expense: includes interest expense less interest income

On-going projects: refer to projects for which construction has begun (excluding various projects that are under development), even if such projects have been placed on hold pending improved operating conditions.

Operating results: refers to operating income/(loss).

Operating segments: NAFTA segment includes the Flat, Long and Tubular operations of Canada, Mexico and USA. The Brazil segment includes the Flat, Long and Tubular operations of Brazil and its neighbouring countries including Argentina, Costa Rica and Venezuela. The Europe segment comprises the Flat, Long and Tubular operations of the European business, as well as Downstream Solutions. The ACIS segment includes the Flat, Long and Tubular operations of Kazakhstan, Ukraine and South Africa. Mining segment primarily includes iron ore operations.

Own iron ore production: includes total of all finished production of fines, concentrate, pellets and lumps and includes share of production.

Price-cost effect: a lack of correlation or an abnormal lag in the corollary relationship between raw material and steel prices, which can either have a positive (i.e., increased spread between steel prices and raw material costs) or negative effect (i.e., a squeeze or decreased spread between steel prices and raw material costs).

Seaborne iron ore reference prices: refers to iron ore prices for 62% Fe CFR China.

Shipments: information at segment and group level eliminates intra-segment shipments (which are primarily between Flat/Long plants and Tubular plants) and inter-segment shipments respectively. Shipments of Downstream Solutions are excluded.

Working capital change (working capital investment / release): Movement of change in working capital - trade accounts receivable plus inventories less trade and other accounts payable.

YoY: refers to year-on-year.

 

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 are prior to inter-segment eliminations and certain adjustments made to operating result 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 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. Non-GAAP/alternative performance measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures applied by other companies. Non-GAAP financial/alternative performance measures should be read in conjunction with, and not as an alternative for, ArcelorMittal's financial information prepared in accordance with IFRS.
2. LTIF figures presented for 1Q 2021 of 0.78x excludes ArcelorMittal Italia (to be deconsolidated as from 2Q 2021 onwards) and ArcelorMittal USA (no longer in scope as sold as part of the sale to Cleveland Cliffs on December 9, 2020). LTIF figures including the impact of ArcelorMittal Italia and ArcelorMittal USA, were 0.93x for 4Q 2020 and 1.01x for 1Q 2020.
3. 1Q 2021 steel shipments of 16.5Mt as compared to 17.3Mt in 4Q 2020 (which included 1.8Mt of steel shipments for ArcelorMittal USA). On a scope adjusted basis 1Q 2021 shipments of 16.5Mt increased by 6.5% vs.15.5Mt in 4Q 2020.
4. Impairment expenses in 4Q 2020 were $331 million following the revised future cashflow expectations of certain assets in Europe. Operating income in 4Q 2020 included $1.3 billion related to gain on the sale of ArcelorMittal USA5 offset by site restoration and termination charges related to the closure of the steel shop and blast furnace at Krakow (Poland). Impairment charges for 1Q 2020 were $92 million and relate to the permanent closure of the coke plant in Florange (France), at the end of April 2020. 1Q 2020 included $457 million of inventory related charges in NAFTA and Europe due to a weaker steel pricing outlook driven by COVID-19 impacts.
5. $1.5 billion gain on AM USA disposal relates to the consideration of $2.2 billion following the increase of the Cleveland Cliff share price from $5.88/sh on September 25, 2020 to $13.04/sh on December 8, 2020 against a total carrying value of $0.7 billion of ArcelorMittal USA, AM Monessen and AM Princeton companies.

 

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6. AMNS India key performance indicators for 1Q 2021 are as follows: AMNS India’s operations were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic during 2Q 2020 with lockdown measures (in particular impacting April 2020). Since then lock down measures have been lifted, demand has improved and the assets are currently running at higher utilization levels. 1Q 2021 crude steel production was 1.8Mt (vs 1.9Mt in 4Q 2020) and operating income was $0.3 billion (vs. $0.2 billion in 4Q 2020). AMNS India has plans to debottleneck operations (steel shop and rolling parts) and achieve capacity of 8.6Mt per annum and medium term plans to expand and grow to 14Mt per annum. The newly acquired Thakurani mines is now operating at full 5.5Mtpa capacity during 1Q 2021, while the second Odisha pellet plant is expected to be completed in 2Q 2021, adding 6Mtpa for a total 20Mtpa of pellet capacity. AM/NS India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Odisha to set-up an integrated steel plant with a 12 Million Tonnes Per Annum capacity in Kendrapara district of state Orissa.
7. ArcelorMittal Mines Canada, otherwise known as ArcelorMittal Mines and Infrastructure Canada.
8. On December 23, 2019, ArcelorMittal, announced it had signed a share purchase agreement with DryLog Ltd (DryLog) for the sale of a 50% stake in Global Chartering Limited (GCL), its wholly owned shipping business, and will subsequently form a 50:50 shipping joint venture with DryLog. The transaction closed on December 31, 2019. The stake sale and JV formation impacted ArcelorMittal’s net debt by $527 million, with $400 million on completion in 4Q 2019 and $127 million received in 1Q 2020. The transaction was part of ArcelorMittal’s commitment to unlock up to $2 billion of value from its asset portfolio by mid-year 2021.
9. ArcelorMittal Italia crude steel production in 1Q 2021 of 1.0Mt (vs. 4Q 2020 of 0.9Mt); 1Q 2021 steel shipments of 0.9Mt (vs. 4Q 2020 steel shipments of 1.0Mt). Capital expenditures of approximately $0.3 billion per annum has been invested in ArcelorMittal Italia in 2019 and 2020.
10. On December 19, 2018, ArcelorMittal signed a $5,500,000,000 Revolving Credit Facility, 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. The extension was completed for $5.4 billion of the available amount, with the remaining $0.1 billion remaining with a maturity of December 19, 2023. In December 2020, ArcelorMittal executed the second option to extend the facility, and the new maturity is now extended to December 19, 2025. As of December 31, 2020, the $5.5 billion revolving credit facility was fully available. On May 5, 2020, ArcelorMittal and a syndicate of banks signed a credit facility with tranches of $0.7 billion and €2.1 billion (the “New Credit Facility”). Subsequently, the Company's share offering, which closed on May 14, 2020, and the mandatorily convertible notes offering, which closed on May 18, 2020, resulted in the cancellation of commitments of an equivalent amount under the New Credit Facility that ArcelorMittal had entered into on May 5, 2020. Subsequently, on July 17, 2020, ArcelorMittal sent a cancellation notice for all unused amounts under the New Credit Facility. The cancellation notice was effective on July 22, 2020. As of such date, the facility was terminated.
11. Assets and liabilities held for sale as of March 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020, include the assets and liabilities of ArcelorMittal Italia and heavy plate assets in Europe.
12. The Company is offering green steel using a system of 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 the reference. 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. The Investment Agreement stipulates a second equity injection by Invitalia, of up to €680 million, to fund the completion of

the purchase of Ilva’s business by Acciaierie d’Italia, which is expected by May 2022 subject to certain conditions precedent. At this point, Invitalia’s shareholding in Acciaierie d’Italia would increase to 60%, with ArcelorMittal to invest up to €70 million to retain a 40% shareholding and joint control over the company. The conditions precedent include: the amendment of the existing environmental plan to account for changes in the new industrial plan; the lifting of all criminal seizures on the Taranto plant; and the absence of restrictive measures – in the context of criminal proceedings where Ilva is a defendant – being imposed against Acciaierie d’Italia Holding or its subsidiaries. In case conditions precedent are not met, then the Acciaierie d’Italia Holding would not be required to complete the purchase of Ilva’s assets and its capital invested would be returned.

14. In addition to the AM/NS India and Calvert joint ventures, the Company has important investments in China that provide valuable dividend streams and growth optionality. VAMA, our 50:50 joint venture with Hunan Valin, is a state-of-the-art facility focused on rolling steel for high-demanding applications in particular automotive. The business is performing well and plans to expend the current capacity by 40% to 2Mtpa over the next 2 years, financed from its own resources. The investment will allow VAMA to broaden its product portfolio and further enhance its competitiveness. This will in turn enable VAMA to meet the growing demand of high value add solutions from the Chinese automotive / NEV market and propel it to be among the top 3 automotive steel players in China by 2025. ArcelorMittal also owns a 37% interest in China Oriental, one of the largest H-Beam producers in China which has recently upgraded its asset portfolio and benefits from a strong balance sheet position.
15. As of March 31, 2021, other assets include these main listed investments of Cleveland Cliffs (8%) at market value of $1,941 million and Erdemir (12%) at market value of $778 million. As of December 31, 2020, other assets included amongst others the listed investment of Cleveland Cliffs (16%) at market value of $1,988 million and Erdemir (12%) at market value of $850 million.

 

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16. On November 1, 2018, AM Investco Italy completed the acquisition of Ilva Spa (former name of ArcelorMittal Italia) and its subsidiaries. ArcelorMittal was the principal partner in AM Investco Italy with 94.45% equity stake in the consortium, with Banca Intesa Sanpaolo holding 5.55%. ISP interest was subject to put and call option arrangement. The put option was exercised in December 2020 simultaneous to the signing of an investment agreement with Invitalia.
17. 1Q 2021 also includes $89 million annual dividend income from Erdemir.
18. Segment “Other & eliminations” operating loss was higher, from a loss of $108 million in 4Q 2020 to a loss of $269 million in 1Q 2021 principally due to increased stock margin eliminations between steel and mining businesses for the temporary unrealized profits on iron ore quantities existing in the steel subsidiaries. As iron ore prices per ton have continued to rise during the latest quarter, the stock margin eliminations have also increased. No guidance is provided for FY2021 expectations as this will be determined by the iron ore price during the period.
19. According to this policy, the Board recommends a $0.30/share base dividend to be paid in June 2021, subject to the approval of shareholders at the AGM, and has approved a $570 million share buyback program which has commenced in March 2021 and is expected to be completed within the 2021 calendar year. This return is additional to the $650 million share buyback returned to shareholders from the proceeds of the partial sell-down of the Company’s equity stake in Cleveland Cliffs announced on February 9, 2021 and completed in 1Q 2021.
20. AMNS Calvert key performance indicators are as follows: Hot strip mill production during 1Q 2021 of 1.3Mt was 19.3% higher than 1.1Mt in 4Q 2020, with good operational performance meeting improved demand. Operating income during 1Q 2021 of $144 million was higher as compared to $40 million in 4Q 2020, reflecting the improvement in pricing. Annual maintenance capital expenditures and interest costs currently total ~$90 million.

 

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.

 

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