ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, has seen its second quarter sales almost halve with the global recession hitting demand for steel.
By Ian Armitage
It is the firm’s second quarterly loss in a row.
ArcelorMittal lost $1.06 billion in the three months ending March 31, compared to a $2.37 billion profit a year ago.
Revenues fell to $19.8 billion.
Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal said it planned to continue cutting production in line with reduced demand and forecast that profits would rebound in the second quarter.
“Strong measures have been taken to reduce our cost considerably and liquidity remains healthy,” the company's Chairman Lakshmi Mittal (pictured) said in the statement.
“Although market conditions remain challenging, a technical recovery is inevitable.”
Lakshmi and the Mittal family face their own problems. Stock market turmoil and fears of declining demand for steel have shrunk the value of the family stake in ArcelorMittal from a record 33 billion pounds last June to about 8.2 billion pounds, according to the The Sunday Times’ Rich List 2009.
Mittal, 58, has seen his wealth fall 61 percent this year.