Luxembourg-headquartered steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal has announced the publication of its annual report for the year ended 31 December 2020.

Concerning operating results, in 2020, ArcelorMittal successfully reduced fixed costs, in line with lower production resulting from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This reduction was achieved through significant savings in labour cost, reduction in repairs and maintenance expenses and savings in selling, general and administrative expenses. As economic activity recovered during the year, the company responded by restarting or increasing production, leading to the reversal of a part of these savings. At the same time, the company remained focussed on structural cost improvements to appropriately position the fixed cost base for the post-COVID-19 operating environment.

ArcelorMittal had steel shipments of 69.1 million tonnes for the year ended 31 December 2020, compared to 84.5 million tonnes for the year ended 31 December 2019, representing a decrease of 18.2%. Sales for the year ended 31 December 2020 stood at €53.3 billion, down from €70.6 billion (down 24.6%) the year before. This was primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lower steel shipments and an 8.7% decrease in average steel selling prices. The company also recorded an operating income loss of €2.1 billion in 2020, compared to $0.6 billion the previous year.

Regarding liquidity and capital resources, ArcelorMittal’s cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and other restricted funds amounted to $6.0 billion at the end of 2020, compared to $5.0 billion at the end of 2019. As of 31 December 2020, ArcelorMittal’s total debt, including long- and short-term debt, was $12.3 billion, compared to $14.3 billion the year before. Net debt (defined as long-term debt ($9.8 billion) plus short-term debt ($2.5 billion), less cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and other restricted funds ($6.0 billion) amounted to $6.4 billion, down from $9.3 billion at the end of 2019. In 2020, net cash provided by operating activities decreased to $4.1 billion, compared to $6.0 billion in 2019.

Based on the current economic outlook, ArcelorMittal expects global ASC in 2021 to grow between 4.5% to 5.5% (versus a contraction of 1.0% in 2020).

The full annual report is available as a PDF at corporate-media.arcelormittal.com/media/w0epovkr/2020-arcelormittal-annual-report.pdf.