Fri Jul 22, 2011 | By Reuters
* EBIT 1.3 bln SEK vs consensus 1.1 bln
* Sees weaker Q3 than Q2 but recovery continuing
* Shares up 7 pct
STOCKHOLM, July 22 (Reuters) - Swedish specialty steelmaker SSAB (SSABa.ST: Quote) posted a better-than-expected second-quarter operating profit on Friday and said the recovery was continuing.
Operating profit at the company, which bought North American steel maker IPSCO in 2007, grew to 1.3 billion crowns ($203 million) from 708 million the same period last year, against an expected profit of 1.1 billion in a Reuters poll.
Operating profit was boosted by good demand at the beginning of the second quarter, a trend that slowed down towards the end of the quarter, SSAB said.
SSAB's shares rose 6.9 percent at 0702 GMT, outperforming the STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources Index which was up 0.75 percent .
Several planned maintenance stops, continued price pressure, together with higher raw materials costs and uncertainty about Europe indicate that the third quarter will be weaker than the second, the company said.
"However, the recovery is continuing and demand is expected to be stronger than in 2010," Chief Executive Martin Lindqvist said in the report.
Extended maintenance work in Sweden will affect operating profit negatively by 100 million to 150 million crowns during the third quarter. A longer outage in Montpelier, Iowa in the third and fourth quarter will hit operating profit by 350 million to 400 million crowns, of which roughly 25 percent will be in the third quarter.
More news from European steel market
North European steel coil prices close to bottom
EUROMETAL: Germany leads the European economy
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* EBIT 1.3 bln SEK vs consensus 1.1 bln
* Sees weaker Q3 than Q2 but recovery continuing
* Shares up 7 pct
STOCKHOLM, July 22 (Reuters) - Swedish specialty steelmaker SSAB (SSABa.ST: Quote) posted a better-than-expected second-quarter operating profit on Friday and said the recovery was continuing.
Operating profit at the company, which bought North American steel maker IPSCO in 2007, grew to 1.3 billion crowns ($203 million) from 708 million the same period last year, against an expected profit of 1.1 billion in a Reuters poll.
Operating profit was boosted by good demand at the beginning of the second quarter, a trend that slowed down towards the end of the quarter, SSAB said.
SSAB's shares rose 6.9 percent at 0702 GMT, outperforming the STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources Index which was up 0.75 percent .
Several planned maintenance stops, continued price pressure, together with higher raw materials costs and uncertainty about Europe indicate that the third quarter will be weaker than the second, the company said.
"However, the recovery is continuing and demand is expected to be stronger than in 2010," Chief Executive Martin Lindqvist said in the report.
Extended maintenance work in Sweden will affect operating profit negatively by 100 million to 150 million crowns during the third quarter. A longer outage in Montpelier, Iowa in the third and fourth quarter will hit operating profit by 350 million to 400 million crowns, of which roughly 25 percent will be in the third quarter.
More news from European steel market
North European steel coil prices close to bottom
EUROMETAL: Germany leads the European economy
.
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