London/New Delhi: The world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal on Wednesday posted over two-fold jump in net income to $1.03 billion for the last quarter of 2017 fiscal on the back of higher sales.
The company, led by billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, had posted a net income of $403 million in the year-ago period, it said in a statement. The steelmaker follows January-December financial year. Sales of the Luxembourg-based company rose to $17.710 billion in October-December period, from $14.126 billion in the year-ago period. For the 2017 fiscal, the company reported two-fold rise in net income to $4.568 billion from $1.779 billion in 2016. Earning per share jumped to $4.48 in 2017 from $1.87 in 2016.
Commenting on the results ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi N Mittal said in a statement, "The combination of improving market fundamentals and delivery against our strategic objectives contributed to a successful year for the company. Action 2020 has delivered half of its targeted EBITDA gains and we have succeeded in transforming the Company's balance sheet."
While the company will retain a deleveraging bias, he said ArcelorMittal is also investing selectively in opportunities that will strengthen the foundations of sustainable value creation. The company's crude steel output during the quarter increased to 22.7 million tonnes (MT), over 21.8 MT in the same quarter of prvious fiscal.