Steelmaker ArcelorMittal suffers $7.9 bn annual loss

ArcelorMittal reported Friday a net loss of almost $8.0 billion (7.1 billion euros) for 2015, pummelled by falling commodity prices, but the world's largest steelmaker said it was making progress on cutting costs.

Over half of the loss was due to writing down in its books the value of its mining operations to reflect the currently lower value of its iron ore, but even excluding exceptional items ArcelorMittal was $300 million into loss.

The company recorded a net loss of $1.86 billion in 2014.

Chief executive Makshmi Mittal acknowledged in a statement that "2015 was a very difficult year for the steel and mining industries... Prices deteriorated significantly during the year as a result of excess capacity in China".

However, he said the mining business "is fully focused on adapting to this low price environment and has reduced cash costs by 20 percent compared with an initial target of 15 percent".

Mittal said a further 10 percent reduction in costs is targeted for 2016.

Sales dropped 20 percent to $63.6 billion, which mostly reflects falling prices as the company's iron ore production and steel shipments only dipped marginally. 

Earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 28 percent to $5.2 billion.