ArcelorMittal Posts First Annual Net Loss

ArcelorMittal reported an annual loss this week, the first annual net loss since the company was formed in 2006, according to The Wall Street Journal.

For 2012, the company's bottom-line shortfall was $3.7 billion ($2.41 per share), a steep drop from the $2.3 billion ($1.46) profit it netted the year before. Sales suffered a decline, to $84 billion from just under $94 billion recorded in 2011.

The company also posted its Q4 results this week, in which the net loss was even steeper. That figure was in the red at nearly $4 billion ($2.58 per share), against a $1 billion ($0.46) loss in the same quarter the previous year.

ArcelorMittal, which dates from a 2006 merger, expects that 2013 will be better. The company's forecasts anticipate an increase in EBITDA, although it did not specify by how much, and a 2%-3% year-over-year rise in steel shipments.

On the negative side, the firm's board of directors has proposed dividends amounting to $0.20 per share for the year, as opposed to 2012's total payout of $0.75.

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