ArcelorMittal (MT), the WORLD's LARGEST steel company, outlined the following Long Term Production Goals during an investor conference on Tuesday, 6/17/08:* STEEL PRODUCTION --> ArcelorMittal expects its steel shipments to total 153 million tons in 2012 vs. 116 million in 2007 (30% production growth in 5 years...this seems enormous considering the current assets + size of the company - $150 Billion marketcap)
* IRON ORE PRODUCTION --> MT expects its iron ore production to reach 110 million tons by 2012 (iron ore is a raw material required for steel production)
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSL1754904620080617
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NOTE some of the recent GLOBAL growth actions/steps taken by ArcelorMittal to keep up with its aggressive steel production goals + Ultimately RULE the WW STEEL markets ! (ps: they are a very intelligent + BUSY company) :
* 25% Stake in Turkey's Erdemir --> On 6/16/08, MT announced they spent $869 million to raise their ownership stake in Turkey's Erdemir (Turkey's largest steel producer) to 24.99%...Per Bloomberg, "Erdemir, which has plants on Turkey's Black Sea and Mediterranean coasts and another in Romania, produced 5.4 million metric tons of steel last year and plans to invest $4.2 billion by 2012 to increase capacity. Ordu Yardimlasma Kurumu, or Oyak, an army pension fund, controls Erdemir after buying a 49 percent stake in the steelmaker from the government for $3 billion in 2005. Oyak Chief Executive Officer Coskun Ulusoy said June 14 that the fund subsequently increased its stake in Erdemir to more than 50 percent, without giving an exact figure...Turkey's biggest steelmaker earlier this month posted a 57 percent gain in first-quarter profit."
* Acquisition of U.S. Bayou Steel --> On 6/16/08, MT announced their acquisition of U.S. steel producer, Bayou Steel, for $475 million...Per Bloomberg, "Bayou operates from Louisiana and Tennessee. It produced about 510,000 tons of steel in 2007 and had sales of about $331 million. The company was acquired in June 2006 by Black Diamond Capital Management LLC for $180 million."
* Acquisition of Canada's Bakermet --> On 6/09/08, MT announced their acquisition of Canadian scrap metals recycler, Bakermet. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed...Per MT's press release, "Bakermet, which specializes in all types of ferrous and non-ferrous metal, processed approximately 130,000 short tons of ferrous and 40 million pounds of non-ferrous metals in 2007. The plant, located near Ottawa, will secure upstream self sufficiency in shredded metal for ArcelorMittal's Contrecoeur mill (ArcelorMittal Montreal)."
* 15% Stake in Australia's Macarthur Coal --> On 5/21/08, MT announced they owned a 14.9% stake in Australia's Macarthur Coal worth approx $605 million...Per Marketwatch, "The stake purchase spurred speculation ArcelorMittal may be making a takeover bid for the miner as part of strategy to secure raw-material supplies. Coking-coal prices have tripled in the past five months...Macarthur produces about 35% of the global pulverized coal used to make steel. Control of Macarthur would make ArcelorMittal self sufficient for about 10% to 15% of its coking coal needs, according to reports."...Clearly MT is looking to secure the raw materials it needs (coking coal) to produce steel and support its current long term production plan of record.
* 50% Stake in Gonvarri Brasil --> On 4/03/08, MT announced their 50% stake and joint venture with Gonvarri Brasil. Per MT's press release, "Gonvarri Brasil is one of the major players for servicing automotive, industry and distribution customers (in Brazil). ArcelorMittal and Gonvarri group have had a close relationship for many years - ArcelorMittal holding a significant stake in Gonvarri Holding and being a major supplier...With this acquisition, ArcelorMittal intends to build a strong presence in the Brazilian flat steel downstream segment, in line with the leadership of its Tubarão (Vitoria) and Vega do Sul plants. Synergies will also be realized with ArcelorMittal Belgo's existing distribution network in Brazil, active both in flat and long products...Today the company (Gonvarri Brasil) is one of the leaders of the flat steel processing in Brazil and its activities include pickling, slitting, blanking, cutting to length, with a total processing capacity of around 1.3 million tons of steel. The Company has 320 employees and owns more than 80,000 square meters of facilities."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=a32CMRQlNSMw&refer=europe
Data Courtesy: Reuters + Bloomberg + MT
Full Disclosure: I own shares of MT.
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