Mittal Steel Company, owned by NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, has earned a record net income of $4.7 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, 2004, compared to net income of $1.2 billion for the corresponding period in the previous year, it was officially announced on Thursday.
Consolidated sales and operating income for the same period were $22.2 billion and $6.1 billion, respectively, compared to $9.6 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2003.
Total steel shipments for 2004 were 42.1 million tonnes as compared to 27.4 million tonnes in 2003.
The company's net income for the fourth quarter of 2004 was $1.6 billion as against $1.3 billion for the third quarter of 2004.
Commenting on the company's performance, Lakshmi Mittal, its Chairman and CEO said, "2004 was an excellent year for Mittal Steel."
"We experienced a strong demand for our products across all markets, combined with higher selling prices and a substantial rise in our total shipments due to the completion of a number of key strategic acquisitions."
"This resulted in record results for the company. Our focus has always been to be a low-cost producer and this is reflected in our operating margin of 27.7 per cent," he said.
"Mittal Steel has now built positions of strength across our key three operating regions- Americas, Europe and the Rest of the World. Looking forward, we are anticipating stable demand during 2005. Global supply and demand remains fairly balanced and Mittal Steel is well positioned to take advantage of the current market dynamics," he said.
According to the announcement, Mittal Steel has decided to divide its operations into three geographical regions - Americas, Europe and rest of the world.
The American region consists of the company's subsidiaries in United States, Canada, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago.
The European region consists of the company's subsidiaries in Bosnia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Macedonia, Poland and Romania.
The Rest of the World region consists of the company's subsidiaries in all other countries, currently mainly Kazakhstan, Algeria and South Africa.
These regions will be the basis for all the analysis the company will present in the future.
The total debt of the company at the end of 2004, including long-term, short-term, loan from shareholder and dividend payable as well as borrowings under working capital credit facilities, stood at $3.6 billion as compared to $3.1 billion at the end of 2003.
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