Reuters: Global Markets: Steel Dynamics sees Q1 profit missing Street goal

Reuters: Global Markets Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Steel Dynamics sees Q1 profit missing Street goal Mar 16th 2012, 13:19 Fri Mar 16, 2012 9:19am EDT (Reuters) - Steel Dynamics Inc (STLD.O) gave a first-quarter profit forecast below Wall Street estimates, saying it was hit by an unexpected pricing squeeze and lower customer orders. The steelmaker's stock fell more than 2 percent in premarket trading on Nasdaq on Friday. In a statement, Steel Dynamics said it expects to post earnings in the range of 15 to 20 cents per share for the first quarter. Analysts on average have expected Steel Dynamics to report earnings of 36 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. "While sequential quarterly financial improvements are expected in both the company's steel and metals recycling operations, these improvements are somewhat tempered by unexpected margin compression that began to occur mid-quarter," the Fort Wayne, Indiana-based company said in a statement. It said flat-roll steel markets moderated more quickly than the price of raw materials such as scrap metal, "against a backdrop of increased import interest, introduction of additional domestic capacity and reduced order activity. "Reduced steel customer buying activity seemed linked to an anticipation of lower scrap pricing, despite the continued strength in demand associated with energy, construction equipment, agricultural and automotive sectors," it said. Steel Dynamics noted that the first-quarter estimate was better than the profit of 14 cents per share in the fourth quarter, but lower than first-quarter 2011 earnings per share of 46 cents. (Reporting By Steve James; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Dave Zimmerman) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions