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Johannesburg - ArcelorMittal South Africa [JSE:ACL] reported a fourth consecutive annual loss on Friday, blaming a global glut and declining commodity prices but forecast better results in the first half of 2015.
The unit of the world's top steelmaker said while it sees international prices remaining depressed, it plans to produce at full capacity and reduce costs.
The company reported a headline loss of 57 cents per share for the year to end-December, compared with a loss of 56c a year earlier, it said in a statement. Headline earnings are the main measure of profitability in South Africa.
The steel-maker also said because of the global steel glut, cheap Chinese imports were still finding their way into the South African market.
Local challenges, such as the near-daily power cuts as the state-run electricity utility Eskom struggles to keep up with demand and maintenance, also weighed on production.
The protracted mining and metals and engineering strikes also put pressure on the steel industry, the company said.
The company said Gerhard van Zyl would be acting chief financial officer when Matthias Wellhausen leaves on March 15.
The company's shares have lost 3% so far this year, compared with a 5.5% rise by Johannesburg’s All share index.
