ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, said it expected improvement this year after a wretched 2012 in which a slump of demand in Europe pushed it into a loss.

The Luxembourg-based company said on Wednesday it expected steel shipments overall to be between 2 and 3 percent higher in 2013 than last year and margins per tonne to improve marginally over the course of the year due to a cost saving plan.