U.S. Steel lost $46 million in the second quarter, its fifth straight quarterly loss, though its flat-rolled segment returned to profitability.

The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, which has mills in Gary, Portage and East Chicago, reported losing 32 cents per share from April through June. U.S. Steel however declared a dividend of 5 cents per share.

U.S. Steel brought in $313 million in operating cash flow in the first six months of the year, including $200 million in the second quarter.

“Our second quarter results improved significantly from the first quarter as our European segment posted its best results since the third quarter of 2008 and our flat-rolled segment returned to profitability,” said Mario Longhi, U.S. Steel president and CEO. “Our improving cost structure continues to drive increases in our margins and the recent increases in steel prices started to be reflected in our results.

“Also, our successful debt offering, continued reductions in working capital and increasing cash generation significantly improved financial flexibility and our cash and liquidity position. While market conditions have improved recently, we remain focused on lowering our break-even point and working closely with our customers to improve our market position and create value for all of our stakeholders.”

U.S. Steel said maintenance and outage costs were higher last quarter “due to planned and unplanned outages at Gary Works early in the quarter.” The flat-rolled segment, which includes U.S. Steel’s local operations in Northwest Indiana, however made $6 million in the second quarter after losing $188 million in the first quarter.

Profits were boosted by the rising price of steel, which grew from an average of $611 a ton in the first quarter to $642 a ton in the second.

The steelmaker had $2.4 billion worth of liquidity, including $820 million in cash, by the end of June.

 

Source : nwitimes.com

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