ArcelorMittal sees flat steel inventories high until H2

Inventories of flat steel products in Brazil are expected to remain at high levels at least until mid-H2, according to Luxembourg-based steel giant ArcelorMittal's (NYSE: MT) CFO Aditya Mittal. "We experienced an inventory bubble in the second half of 2010," Mittal said during a conference call to discuss Q1 financial results. "We had expected that the level of imports would decline in the beginning of this year, [specifically] in the first quarter of 2011, and then therefore we would move faster in terms of eliminating this inventory bubble," he added. However, the Brazilian real has appreciated, making the market more attractive and keeping imports - as well as inventories - at high levels, according to the CFO. "I would expect that this high level of inventory would continue until the middle of the second half when it would come to more normalized levels," Mittal said. ArcelorMittal posted net income of US$1.07bn in Q1, from US$640mn year-on-year thanks to higher shipments and output. Quarterly sales rose to US$22.2bn from US$17.4bn in 1Q10 and Ebitda increased to US$2.58bn from US$1.70bn, the company said on Wednesday.