(Minews) - US Steel posted a net loss of $122 million for the fourth quarter due to a $302 million non-cash restructuring charge related to the shutdown of its iron and steelmaking facilities at Hamilton Works in Ontario.
The company also spent $45 million during the period for facility repairs and maintenance costs on a blast furnace reline at Gary Works in Indiana and a planned blast furnace maintenance project at Fairfield Works, Ala., according to its fourth-quarter earnings statement.
Fourth-quarter results in the company’s flat-rolled segment, which posted an $87 million profit, were comparable to the third quarter as higher prices were offset by an increase in lower-value hot-rolled shipments. US Steel saw lower income from its tubular segment vs. the previous quarter as both shipment volumes and prices fell.
“End-users decreased drilling activity in order to operate within their 2013 capital budgets and imports persisted at high levels for which a trade case is pending,” president and ceo Mario Longhi said in the statement.
Longhi added that the company’s results reflected the company’s road back to profitability.
“Our fourth quarter results reflect our early efforts on this journey as all segments were profitable and in total, we had an overall improvement in operating results compared to the third quarter,” he said.
US Steel expects first-quarter results for the flat-rolled segment to increase due to higher prices and lower operating costs, while the tubular segment is expected to see results decline again due to an increase in substrate costs and weaker prices, according to the statement.
President Obama is visiting the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, Pa., on Wednesday January 29 during a four-stop tour.
In other news, a Monday January 27 ruling by the Supreme Court handed US Steel a victory after judges decided the company does not have to pay employees for the time they spend changing into and out of safety gear before and after their shifts.
