New Delhi: ArcelorMittal chief L N Mittal
on Wednesday said that he is concerned about the shareholders and is
constantly working to create value for them even as the
company reported three consecutive quarterly losses on account
of the global economic slowdown.
"As the largest shareholder, I am eventually most
bothered about the value which the company should create for
the shareholders...I am also all the time concerned that how
do the company cut in to create value for the shareholders,"
Mittal told agency in an exclusive interview over phone after
announcement of the company's Q2 results.
Mittal said that the steel industry is not untouched with
the global meltdown and his company has taken adequate
measures to overcome the impact and was now looking for
recovery.
"I think the global crisis has affected the steel
industry and ArcelorMittal has taken the right action which
are clearly admirable. We have a great management team. I am
happy that the worst is over and we are really looking for
recovery path," he said.
"I tell the shareholders what we are doing internally and
what is our view on external situation," he said adding, that
company never lagged behind in explaining to its shareholders
what are the steps taken besides the economic indicators.
Asked if the present value of its share was a real
intrinsic value of the company or is a perception that it has
also been affected due to meltdown, Mittal said, "It is a very
difficult question to answer."
"But I will tell you that if a greenfield project has to
be built it costs anywhere between USD 1,500 per tonne (and)
upwards to build one tonne of steel capacity. And today
ArcelorMittal has 120MT, in 2007 and plus it has
mining...distribution...just to give you a ballpark figure,"
he added.
Steel behemoth ArcelorMittal today reported a USD 792
million net loss for the second quarter of the current
fiscal, a third in a row.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 20:44