ArcelorMittal recorded a net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2009 of $0.8 billion, or $(0.57) per share, as compared with a net loss of $1.1 billion, or $(0.78) per share, for the three months ended March 31, 2009, and net income of $5.8 billion or $4.20 per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2008.

Sales for the three months ended June 30, 2009 were $15.2 billion mostly unchanged from $15.1 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and down sharply from $37.8 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2008.  The main reason for the decline continues to be the extreme weakness in demand for steel products in 2009 as a result of the global economic crisis, along with a steep fall in prices.

ArcelorMittal recorded an operating loss for the three months ended June 30, 2009 of $1.2 billion, as compared with operating loss of $1.5 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and operating income of $6.6 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2008. The loss in the second quarter of 2009 resulted from exceptional charges amounting to $1.2 billion primarily related to write-downs of inventory ($0.9 billion) and provisions for workforce reductions ($0.3 billion). During the first quarter of 2009, the Company had recorded exceptional charges amounting to $1.2 billion related primarily to write-downs of inventory.

Stainless Steel
Total steel shipments in the Stainless Steel segment were higher at 363,000 metric tonnes for the three months ended June 30, 2009 as compared with steel shipments of 315,000 metric tonnes for the three months ended March 31, 2009.

Sales were higher at $1.0 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2009 as compared with $0.9 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2009, primarily as the increase in shipments more than offset lower prices (a 10.2% decrease in average steel selling price).

The segment recorded an operating loss of $64 million for the three months ended June 30, 2009 as compared with an operating loss of $0.2 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2009. The operating loss in the first quarter of 2009 included exceptional charges of $98 million related to write-downs of inventory. Excluding the impact of these exceptional charges, operating loss was $71 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009.