By Alex MacDonald
LONDON--ArcelorMittal (MT), the world's largest steelmaker by
output, said the political crisis in Ukraine has led to weaker
domestic steel demand but the company continues to operate normally
by diverting a greater share of its production within the country
to other markets.
"As far as we are concerned, we are operating normally" in
Ukraine, Chief Executive Lakshmi Mittal told analysts at the
company's Investor Day briefing.
He said the ongoing political uncertainty in Ukraine has caused
domestic steel demand to drop because people weren't investing,
though costs have fallen because the local currency--the
hryvnia--has weakened against the dollar.
Steel sales to customers in Ukraine from ArcelorMittal's Kryvyi
Riy steel plant will halve as a result of the crisis, Mr. Mittal
said, noting that this material is already being diverted to
different markets.
The Kryvyi Riy plant, one of Ukraine's largest, is located 418
kilometers southeast of the capital Kiev and produced 6.4 million
metric tons of crude steel in 2013.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires