ArcelorMittal reports plunge into loss on weak Chinese demand for steel For the third quarter of last year, the group had reported a net profit of $659m. The figures this morning were far below those expected by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires who had broadly expected a loss of $230m and sales of $20.56bn. The head of the group, Lakshmi Mittal said in a statement that the main cause was a slowdown in demand from China which had caused very difficult trading conditions which were likely to continue into the fourth quarter. A fall of the price of iron ore in the third quarter and a weakening of the world economy had also led the group to revise down the outlook for profits in the second half, the group said. It now expected an operating profit of about $7bn for the whole of the year, without referring to a previous estimate. The group has greatly increased its iron ore interests in recent years as part of vertical development to protect its raw materials inputs. The volume of steel deliveries by the group fell by 5.7pc in the quarter to 19.9m tonnes. Output of iron ore rose by 1.3pc. The board recommended a reduction of the dividend from next year to 0.20 cents per share from 0.75 cents. Excluding future asset sales, net debt was expected to rise to $22bn at the end of the year, the group said, stressing that reducing debt was a priority.