Western Europe is looking to Lakshmi Mittal to rescue its steel industry.
Everyone agrees steel is a strategic necessity but will there come a day when Europeans will have to depend almost entirely on cheap imports from China?
The problem is that while making environmentally friendly, decarbonised steel is technically possible, the product is so expensive it cannot possibly compete with the stuff coming out of China.
And if western governments do not act soon to ensure a “level playing field”, either by giving subsidies or introducing tariffs to keep out imports from China, western Europe will no longer have a steel industry.
Is Lakshmi Mittal, executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, the man to ride to the rescue?
While Mittal keeps as busy as ever, the public facing role at the company has been handed over to son, Aditya, who is ArcelorMittal’s chief executive officer.
In 2024, ArcelorMittal’s net profit was $2.3 billion, which was a 52.2 per cent decrease from 2023. The company’s revenue was $62.44 billion, which was an 8.5 per cent decrease from 2023.
“Last year was challenging from a global economic perspective, but, despite this EBITDA per tonne at $130 is considerably higher than the five- year-average...
