ArcelorMittal Delivers Steel To World's Largest Cruise Ship

ArcelorMittal’s (NYSE:MT) sites in Spain and France have provided all the steel that has been used in the Harmony of the Seas – the world’s largest cruise ship, which is also being considered as Europe’s biggest hotel. The ship has docked at the U.K. port of Southampton after leaving Saint-Nazaire in France.

The ship is made of heavy plates made at ArcelorMittal’s site in Gijon, Spain. The coils were produced at ArcelorMittal Fos-sur-Mer and thereafter processed at its service center in Saint-Nazaire, both in France.

The 6-deck cruise ship has 2,700 staterooms, 20 restaurants and 23 swimming pools. It has the capacity to carry around 6,800 passengers and more than 2,000 crew members. It also possesses a cinema and a promenade, as well as a spa and fitness center.

The ship was built by STX France. ArcelorMittal partnered with STX France in 2013 when it was chosen by the latter to supply 100% of the steel for the hull and 20 decks in the world’s biggest cruise ship. Earlier this month, ArcelorMittal was recognized by STX France with a supplier award in the “long-term cooperation” category.

The deal with STX France illustrates ArcelorMittal’s ability to deliver high quality steels and tailored services from its European industrial and sales units. This also validates its long-term presence as a steel supplier to the cruise ship market, along with being one that has seen consistent growth over the last five years

Harmony of the Seas is the first of two “Oasis-class” cruise ships built by STX France. The second is currently under construction, and will also source all its steel from ArcelorMittal. Deliveries will extend through spring 2017.

ArcelorMittal’s shares rose around 1.3% to close at $4.75 on May 17.

ArcelorMittal released its first-quarter 2016 results earlier this month. The company posted a net loss of $416 million or 23 cents per share in the quarter, lower than a net loss of $728 million or 41 cents per share recorded a year ago. Excluding exceptional and non-cash items, adjusted net loss for the quarter was $176 million compared with adjusted loss of $36 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted loss of 10 cents per share for the reported quarter was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 15 cents.

Revenues plunged 21.7% year over year to $13,399 million in the quarter and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14,189 million. The year-over-year decline resulted from lower average steel selling prices, lower market-priced iron ore shipments and a fall in iron ore reference prices.

ArcelorMittal currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other well-ranked companies worth considering in the steel industry include Ryerson Holding Corporation (NYSE:RYI) , Olympic Steel Inc. (NASDAQ:ZEUS) and POSCO (NYSE:PKX) . While Ryerson Holding sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Olympic Steel and POSCO carry a Zacks Rank #2.