ArcelorMittal cuts 2013 outlook on weaker demand

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal , the world's largest steelmaker, on Thursday cut its 2013 core profit guidance on weaker-than-expected demand and lower-than-expected raw material prices.

It said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2013 would be more than $6.5 billion, versus a previous forecast to beat the $7.1 billion reported in 2012.

The group, which lost its investment grade credit rating last year, said that its net debt fell to $16.2 billion at the end of the second quarter but that this figure would rise to about $17 billion in the second half of 2013 because of investment in working capital and the payment of the annual dividend.

ArcelorMittal kept its medium-term net debt target of $15 billion.

The $500-billion-a-year steel industry, a gauge of the global economy, has been hit hard by a drop in demand from austerity-ravaged Europe and signs of slowing growth in China.

The group sees steel shipments rising between 1 and 2 percent in 2013, driven by a 3 percent rise of global steel consumption. The company believes all regions except Europe will demand more steel than in 2012.

ArcelorMittal, which sold around 45 percent of its steel in Europe last year, said second-quarter EBITDA, or core profit, fell 33.5 percent year-on-year to $1.70 billion, below the analysts' average forecast of $1.75 billion in a Reuters poll.

(Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek, editing by Ben Deighton and David Cowell)