French Stocks Retreat; Danone, Arcelor Mittal and Axa Lead the Decline

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks declined, paced by
Groupe Danone SA, Arcelor Mittal and Axa SA.

The CAC 40 Index lost 43.27, or 0.7 percent, to 5910.09 in
Paris at 9:09 a.m. The SBF 120 Index dropped 0.7 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

French Stocks Advance, Paced By Total, Arcelor Mittal, Michelin, Areva

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks advanced, led by Total
SA, Arcelor Mittal and Electricite de France SA.

Shares of Michelin & Cie., the world's second-largest
tiremaker, gained as rubber futures tumbled.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Mittal S.Africa unit to raise steel prices in May

(Reuters) - Mittal Steel SA, the South African unit of Arcelor Mittal, the world's top steel-maker, will raise the prices of certain long and flat steel products from May 1, it said on Friday.

Blaming stronger international steel prices, Mittal SA said in a statement it would from the start of May raise the price of hot and cold rolled coil by 7 percent and 2 percent, respectively, and plate by 10 percent.


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S.Africa's Mittal to unveil $83 mln kilns investment

(Reuters) - South Africa's Mittal Steel, a unit of the world's top steel group, said on Monday it would announce a 600 million rand kilns project at its main Vanderbijlpark plant on Thursday.

Mittal SA, which is 52 percent owned by Arcelor Mittal, has already said it plans to spend 9 billion rand in a capital expenditure programme over a number of years, and the 600 million was part of that amount.


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Mittal FY earnings down 8 pct on costs

South Africa's Mittal Steel, a unit of the world's top steel group, said headline earnings for the year to end December fell 8 percent to 4.646 billion rand, due to higher input costs.

Mittal SA, which is owned by Arcelor Mittal, said the decline in earnings was offset by an increase in domestic sales and a weaker rand/U.S. dollar exchange rate.

Read more at Reuters South Africa

Arcelor Mittal 06 profit slightly below consensus

Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steelmaker, reported a 2006 core profit of $15.3 billion on Wednesday, slightly below market expectations but in line with its own forecast.

Analysts polled by Reuters expected EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) on average at $15.4 billion.

The steel giant previously told investors it saw core earnings coming in between $15.2 billion and 15.4 billion.

Arcelor Mittal also gave financial guidance for the first quarter of 2007, projecting core earnings to reach between $4.0 and $4.2 billion, in line with the last quarter of 2006.

Read more at Reuters South Africa

Steel sector mergers to continue

The search for size in the steel sector is set to intensify, analysts said on Thursday, with more deals like the merger of Tata Steel and Corus expected in the future as the industry continues to consolidate.

After the €27bn ($35bn) takeover of European steel group Arcelor by Mittal Steel last year, India's Tata Steel agreed to pay €10bn for British rival Corus on Wednesday.

Arcelor Mittal dwarfs it rivals, producing about three times as much as the second-biggest group in the world, Nippon Steel, while Tata/Corus will be either the fifth- or sixth-biggest supplier when the merger is completed.

Read more at FIN24.co.za

Corus deal buoys S.Africa's Mittal, Highveld shares

Shares in South Africa's Mittal Steel SA, a unit of the world's top steel group, jumped 6 percent on Wednesday to a fresh peak, buoyed by fresh consolidation in the global steel sector, traders said.

Shares in Mittal SA, majority-owned by Arcelor Mittal, traded 5.4 percent up at 109.62 rand, leading the blue chip Top-40 index, which lost 0.37 percent at 1303 GMT.

Read Full Article at Reuters South Africa