Lakshmi Mittal appointed CEO of Arcelor Mittal

BRUSSELS, Nov 6: Steel giant Arcelor Mittal appointed Lakshmi Mittal as chief executive on Monday, tightening the steel magnate's grip just months after his mega-merger to form the combined group.

The group also reported third-quarter figures showing core profit slightly ahead of expectations and confirming its guidance for the full year.

Mittal Steel, which took over Luxembourg's Arcelor after a ferocious battle of words, had pledged to keep an Arcelor man at the top following the merger of the two groups in a bid to calm political opposition to the deal.

Arcelor Mittal said in a statement on Monday that the board of directors had unanimously appointed Lakshmi Mittal as the new chief to replace Roland Junck of Arcelor, who would remain a member of the group management board.

''We are making these changes to clarify the leadership of the company. It had become clear over the past months that the interests of the company were not best served by the previous structure,'' said Joseph Kinsch, chairman of the board, who had been a leading Arcelor figure resisting Mittal's advances.

Arcelor Mittal said EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) amounted to .35 billion, compared with the average forecast of .29 billion from a poll of seven analysts by Reuters.

''The anticipated low seasonal volume was offset by a strong rise in steel prices ... looking ahead, we are on track to deliver guidance for the full year,'' Chief Financial Officer Aditya Mittal said in a statement.

Third-quarter sales amounted to .1 billion compared with the average forecast from the poll of .07 billion.

Arcelor Mittal said the integration of the two groups is progressing well.

REUTERS