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Johannesburg - ArcelorMittal SA [JSE:ACL] , a unit of the world's top steelmaker, on Wednesday reported a 63 percent drop in first-half profit, hit by higher raw material costs and a stronger rand currency, and forecast a difficult third-quarter.
Weakening demand and persistently high input costs have been pressuring steelmakers globally, along with tightening monetary policy in China and debt problems in Europe and the United States.
ArcelorMittal South Africa said diluted headline earnings per share for the six months to the end of June fell to 166c from 449c a year earlier.
Headline earnings are the main profit gauge in South Africa and strip out certain one-time items.
"Earnings for the third quarter are expected to be substantially lower than the previous quarter due to lower international steel prices and lower sales volumes, exacerbated by the industrial action, a planned shutdown at Saldanha Works as well as an increase in coking coal costs," it said in a statement.
First-half revenue rose to R16.6bn, compared with R16.2bn the previous year.
The company declared an interim dividend of 55c.
Shares in the company have fallen around 5% so far this year, compared with a 0.28% rise in the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200].
Weakening demand and persistently high input costs have been pressuring steelmakers globally, along with tightening monetary policy in China and debt problems in Europe and the United States.
ArcelorMittal South Africa said diluted headline earnings per share for the six months to the end of June fell to 166c from 449c a year earlier.
Headline earnings are the main profit gauge in South Africa and strip out certain one-time items.
"Earnings for the third quarter are expected to be substantially lower than the previous quarter due to lower international steel prices and lower sales volumes, exacerbated by the industrial action, a planned shutdown at Saldanha Works as well as an increase in coking coal costs," it said in a statement.
First-half revenue rose to R16.6bn, compared with R16.2bn the previous year.
The company declared an interim dividend of 55c.
Shares in the company have fallen around 5% so far this year, compared with a 0.28% rise in the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200].
