ArcelorMittal shares opened sharply higher on Thursday morning after reporting better-than-expected results for the last three months of 2023 and a promising outlook.

The Group's Ebitda, the indicator most closely followed by the market, reached $1.27 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $1.26 billion the previous year and well above the average forecast of analysts, who were expecting $1.20 billion.

The steelmaker says it anticipates 3% to 4% growth in apparent world steel consumption this year, excluding China, driven by India followed by Europe.

By way of comparison, the trade association Worldsteel expects demand to grow by around 2% by 2024.

"When we look to the future, we see the first signs of a more constructive industrial context", commented Aditya Mittal, the company's CEO.

According to the steel specialist's boss, customer destocking is coming to an end.

The group also believes that, after a period of strategic investment, it is on the verge of a significant change in its profitability profile.

Following these announcements, ArcelorMittal's share price climbed by more than 3.5% in early trading, making it one of the biggest risers in the STOXX Europe 600 index.

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