ArcelorMittal South Africa (SA) said on Thursday it narrowed its full year loss by 34% on the back of lower raw material costs and after closing its money losing long steel business.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s top steelmaker posted a headline loss of $207.86 million in the year ended December 2025.
The SA unit of global steelmaker ArcelorMittal has been battling weak local demand, high electricity costs as well as competition from local scrap metal recycling mini-mills and imports from China.
ArcelorMittal SA’s Luxembourg-headquartered parent company, however, on Thursday reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.59 billion for the fourth quarter, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.51 billion.
The SA unit said its crude steel production and sales were down 12% to 2.3 million metric tons and 2 million metric tons, respectively. Its realised steel prices were 5% lower in Rand terms and 3% down in United States Dollars.
ArcelorMittal SA shut down its long-steel plants last year in an effort to stem losses.
–Reuters–
