ArcelorMittal: flexible friend - FT.com As Lakshmi Mittal strolls through his three properties on London's billionaire's row, he can hold his head a tad higher these days. After an embarrassing 80 per cent fall in the share price of ArcelorMittal since 2008, things may well be turning round. On Friday the world's largest steelmaker by sales reported $1.6bn in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the first quarter, in line with the previous quarter but ahead of consensus expectations. The shares gained 5 per cent. Arcelor's stabilising performance, however, is not about improving growth prospects. The global steel market remains in structural oversupply. Capacity utilisation rates in China, the world's largest consumer of steel, are still about 70 per cent, according to Macquarie. Although Arcelor's revenues increased by 2 per cent in the first quarter from the previous three months, this was less than investors were expecting. Costs among US and European steelmakers remain high. But Arcelor has size on its side, which allows it the flexibility to shut plants to improve utilisation rates. The company has 21 steel furnaces, down from 25. As a result it remains confident it can meet its 2013 ebitda target to beat the $7.1bn in 2012, which included $1.4bn in one-off gains. A solid first-quarter performance means Arcelor is closer to achieving that target, but there is still some way to go. Its 6 per cent year-on-year fall in steel shipments during the period is well short of the 2 per cent growth it needs for the full year. The 7 per cent growth in iron ore shipments at market prices needs to reach at least 20 per cent by the end of the year. And in spite of shutting plants, five furnaces in eastern Europe remain idle. Still, Arcelor maintains that it is on track. Certainly, it is doing better with managing its debt. Net debt fell from $22bn to $18bn in the quarter after the company raised $4bn of capital in January and sold a stake in its Canadian mining asset. Steel remains an industry for brave investors only. But at least Arcelor is starting to prove it could be one of the survivors should demand finally recover.