AMSTERDAM (AP) — ArcelorMittal SA, the world’s largest steelmaker, says operating profits rose strongly in the third quarter on improved European operations and higher steel volumes, despite a decline in iron ore prices.
The Luxembourg-based company Friday reported third-quarter net profit of $22 million, compared with a loss of $193 million in the third quarter of 2013. Then, ArcelorMittal booked a $101 million charge to cancel developing an iron mine in Senegal. Third-quarter sales rose 2.6 percent to $20.1 billion, and operating profit doubled to $959 million from $477 million.
The company shipped 21.5 metric tons of steel, a 3.9 percent increase.
Chief Executive Lakshmi Mittal said earlier restructurings of European operations are bearing fruit and he does not “foresee a deterioration in our performance” in the fourth quarter.
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