ArcelorMittal sees pick-up in coming months

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal , the world's largest steelmaker, rebounded from a very weak end to 2012 and forecast improvement in the coming months after rising steel shipments produced a higher than expected core profit.

The company, which makes 6-7 percent of global steel, said on Friday first-quarter core profit (EBITDA) was $1.565 billion, down 26 percent year-on-year, but well above the average $1.36 billion expected in a Reuters poll.

ArcelorMittal said the corresponding figure would be higher still in the second quarter and repeated its outlook that core profit this year would be greater than the $7.1 billion of 2012.

It expects steel shipments to increase by 2-3 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.

It also expects to ship about 20 percent more iron ore this year, chiefly because of its expansion into mining in recent years.

The repeated forecast may surprise some investors.

Market expectations have sunk since the start of the year. The SmartEstimate of Thomson Reuters Starmine, which weights analyst estimates according to previous track record, is for a core profit this year of $6.89 billion. The mean figure was $7.17 billion.

ArcelorMittal, whose shares are down 24 percent in the year to date, did add a caveat to its forecast: that iron ore prices and the margin of steel over raw material costs would be similar to 2012 levels. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek)