ArcelorMittal

The rating on ArcelorMittal reflects its position as the largest global steel producer, with plants spread across four continents and integration into mining, as well the bolstering of its financial position through deleveraging and renewed cost reduction. Critically, ArcelorMittal has decisively strengthened its balance sheet and liquidity in 2016 to increase resilience in the face of challenging industry conditions. Despite our forecast of weaker earnings in 2016 compared with 2015, we project stronger credit ratios following the company's $3 billion equity increase and $1 billion disposal of its interest in Gestamp. We continue to assess steel markets as highly volatile and unpredictable and anticipate excess supply in the steel industry, despite capacity reductions starting in late 2015. Steel pricing and

...The rating on ArcelorMittal reflects its position as the largest global steel producer, with plants spread across four continents and integration into mining, as well the bolstering of its financial position through deleveraging and renewed cost reduction. Critically, ArcelorMittal has decisively strengthened its balance sheet and liquidity in 2016 to increase resilience in the face of challenging industry conditions. Despite our forecast of weaker earnings in 2016 compared with 2015, we project stronger credit ratios following the company's $3 billion equity increase and $1 billion disposal of its interest in Gestamp. We continue to assess steel markets as highly volatile and unpredictable and anticipate excess supply in the steel industry, despite capacity reductions starting in late 2015. Steel pricing and profits rebounded in second quarter 2016 after significant declines, in part as the destocking cycle finished. There has also been some temporary relief for the industry in the form...

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