UPDATE: ArcelorMittal Lowers Full-Year Earnings Forecast

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) lowered its earnings forecast for the full year.ArcelorMittal now projects core profit for the full year to be above $7 billion, versus its earlier forecast of around $8 billion.The Luxembourg-based company posted a second-quarter net profit of $52 million, versus a year-ago net loss of $780 million. Its sales increased to $20.7 billion from $20.2 billion.Operating income surged to $832 million in the quarter, from $352 million in the year-ago period. The latest quarter operating results included a $90 million charge following the settlement of US antitrust litigation.The company posted quarterly EBITDA of $1.76 billion, up from $1.70 billion in the year-ago period and compared to analysts' estimates of $1.83 billion.Total steel shipments were 21.5 million tonnes in the quarter, up from 20.9 million metric tonnes, in the year-ago period.In the US, ArcelorMittal lifted its demand growth forecast to as much as 6% percent, versus its previous outlook of 3.5% to 4.5%. It also lifted its demand growth forecast for Europe to as much as 4%, versus 2% to 3%.The company's net debt shrank to $17.4 billion in the second quarter. Net interest expense declined to $383 million from $471 million.Mr. Lakshmi N. Mittal, ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO, said, "The second quarter and first half results reflect the anticipated improvement in steel shipments and margins, supporting an underlying EBITDA improvement compared with last year. The expansion of our iron ore business is also on track, although increased iron ore shipments were offset by the lower than anticipated iron ore price, which has led us to revise our EBITDA guidance for the full year.”ArcelorMittal shares fell 2.31% to close at $15.21 yesterday.