Luxembourg, February 10, 2022 – 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 results1,2 for the three-months and twelve-months period ended December 31, 2021
2021 Key highlights:
Health and safety focus: Protecting the health and wellbeing of employees remains the Company’s overarching priority; LTIF rate of 0.79x in FY 2021 vs. 0.61x in FY 20203
Robust financial performance: FY 2021 operating income of $17.0bn4 (vs. $2.1bn4,5 in FY 2020) and EBITDA of $19.4bn (vs. $4.3bn in FY 2020)
Enhanced share value: Basic EPS of $13.53/sh. Equity book value per share22 increased to $51/sh (from $32/sh in FY 2020)
Financial strength: The Company ended 2021 with gross debt of $8.4bn (vs. $12.3bn at the end of 2020), net debt of $4.0bn (vs. $6.4bn at the end of 2020) and returned to investment grade; pension/OPEB declined 20% to $3.7bn in Dec’21 vs. $4.6bn in Dec’20
Healthy net income: $15.0bn6 in FY 2021 includes share of JV and associates net income of $2.2bn (vs. $0.2bn in FY 2020) largely reflecting performance at AMNS India, AMNS Calvert and other investees
Strong FCF generation: 9.2% higher steel shipments YoY on scope adjusted basis21 led to a working capital investment of $6.4bn in FY 2021; despite this the Group generated $6.6bn free cash flow (FCF)17 in FY 2021 ($9.9bn net cash provided by operating activities less capex of $3.0bn less minority dividends of $0.3bn)
Significant returns to shareholders: The Company returned $6.7bn of capital to shareholders in FY 2021, reducing the fully diluted shares outstanding by 19%; 165m shares cancelled (120m shares in 2021 and 45m shares in Jan 2022)
Priorities & Outlook:
Global leadership on addressing climate change:
The Company is progressing its plans to reduce the CO2e intensity of its global production by 25% by 2030 (including a 35% reduction in CO2e intensity in Europe) with a net investment of $0.3bn forecast in 2022
1st Smart Carbon projects to be commissioned in Ghent (Belgium) by end 2022
1st Hydrogen reduction project in Hamburg to start production 2024-2025; Further decarbonization projects announced during the year in Spain, Canada, Belgium and France
New €1.7bn investment in Fos-sur-Mer & Dunkirk (France), enabling a reduction of ~40% or 7.8Mtpa CO2 emissions in France by 2030
XCarbTM Innovation Fund investments12 in five technology partnerships during 2021 totaling $180m
Sales of XCarb® green steel certificates targeted to increase to 0.6Mt run rate by end 2022
New 3 year $1.5bn Value plan to deliver commercial and business improvements
Delivering strategic growth in support of higher sustainable returns
New $0.3bn pellet plant investment at Kryvyi Rih (Ukraine) to ensure sustainability, environmental compliance and improve productivity; new $0.2bn section mill in Barra Mansa (Brazil) to produce higher value added products and enhance the product mix
$3.1bn strategic capex envelope to be spent between 2021-2024 (of which $0.2bn has been spent to date)23 is estimated to add $1.1bn to future EBITDA24
1st coils from the Mexico HSM produced in December 2021; strategic capex to increase in 2022 as growth projects in Brazil (Monlevade, Vega and Barra Mansa) and Ukraine, as well as Iron Ore mining (Liberia, Las Truchas, Serra Azul) advance
Building a track record of consistently returning capital to shareholders:
$7.2bn of capital returned to shareholders since September 2020
The Board proposes to increase the annual base dividend to shareholders to $0.38/sh (to be paid in June 2022, subject to the approval of shareholders at the AGM in May 2022)
The Company has announced a new $1.0bn capital return for 1H’22. Further authorization to repurchase shares will be sought from shareholders at the 2022 AGM
Market outlook is favorable
World ex-China apparent steel consumption (“ASC”) in 2022 vs. 2021 is expected to grow 2.5-3%; the Company expects its steel shipments in 2022 to grow by 3% vs. 202121
The Company expects strong EBITDA and FCF generation in 2022
Commenting, Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal Chief Executive Officer, said: “2021 was a strong year in which we accelerated progress on many fronts. The global economic rebound post initial COVID-19 restrictions being lifted supported buoyant demand in all markets delivering very high levels of profitability. This further strengthened our balance sheet and enabled the delivery of consistent returns for shareholders as well as targeted investment in our business. Recent investments, both organic and acquisitive, have long-term strategic value – with the Mexico hot strip mill set to ramp up this year, the construction of the Calvert EAF underway, and the AM/NS India joint venture performing well and poised to capture further opportunity in this fast-growing market. The one area where we are not satisfied is safety. We want to do better and we have to do better. Across the organization all our efforts are focused on this most important outcome.
Perhaps most critically we intensified our commitments to decarbonize, recognizing that steel can and must make a significant contribution to achieving net zero. We stated an ambition to reduce our CO2e intensity by 25% by 2030 and continue to invest in multiple technology routes that will help us succeed. We launched our XCarb vision which includes an investment fund into the clean energy technologies that support this transformation. Working in collaboration with stakeholders, we were able to accelerate progress at a number of our plants in Europe and also in Canada. Our aim is to demonstrate what is possible by having the world’s first near zero-emissions steel plant.
We start 2022 ready to build on the progress already achieved for long-term sustainability and success. Industry fundamentals remain positive, supported by re-negotiated automotive contracts. Our balance sheet strength enables us to invest in the most compelling organic growth opportunities and continue our transition towards low emissions steelmaking. We see increasing evidence of stakeholder understanding and support for the transition to zero-carbon steel-making. We look forward to further building on this progress achieved, in 2022.”
