Arcelor Mittal Swings To $780 Million Loss (MT)

Luxembourg-based Arcelor Mittal MT released its financial results on Tuesday morning. Arcelor Mittal reported that it swung to a 4th quarter net loss of $780 million, or 51 cents per share, from net income of $1.35 billion, or 89 cents per share, a year earlier. Arcelor Mittal reported revenue of $20.7 billion, up from $17.4 billion a year earlier. According to a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters, the average Wall Street estimate called for earnings of 18 cents per share, on revenue of $20.78 billion. Chairman and CEO Lakshmi N. Mittal said, “Although 2010 continued to be a challenging year, as anticipated we saw a slow and progressive recovery which enabled us to deliver a substantially improved performance compared with 2009. The gradual underlying demand recovery continues and we expect 2011 to be stronger than 2010." Arcelor Mittal (MT) closed the previous trading day at $36.78 per share. Analysts covering the company's stock give it a consensus price target of $40.71 per share. Arcelor Mittal is the leader in all major global steel markets, including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with leading R&D and technology, as well as sizeable captive supplies of raw materials and outstanding distribution networks. Read more from Benzinga's Company news.