Pittsburgh-based United States Steel Corp. (U.S. Steel) has reported second-quarter 2018 net earnings of $214 million, or $1.20 per share. That compares with second-quarter 2017 net earnings of $261 million, or $1.48 per share.
The integrated steelmaker also has reported an adjusted net earnings figure of $262 million, or $1.46 per share, for the second quarter of 2018, which compares favorably with an adjusted net earnings total of $189 million, or $1.07 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2017.
The company says its adjusted earnings figures “are non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) measures that exclude the effects of gains or losses on the sale of ownership interests in equity investees; facility restart costs; gains or losses associated with our retained interest in U. S. Steel Canada Inc.; restructuring charges; significant temporary idling charges; and debt extinguishment and other related costs that are not part of the company’s core operations.”
David B. Burritt, U.S. Steel president and CEO, says, “In the second quarter, our team performed well by responding quickly to customer demand. We restarted steelmaking at Granite City [Illinois] ahead of schedule and safely ramped up production and shipments faster than planned. In addition, a very strong shipping performance in late June enabled us to deliver higher than expected earnings."
Looking ahead to the second half of 2018, Burritt adds, “The success to date of our ongoing $2 billion asset revitalization program, as well as our earnings power in the current market, makes us increasingly optimistic about future investments that will drive long-term profitable growth.”
He continues, “We currently expect that third quarter 2018 adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) will be approximately $525 million. We expect our flat-rolled segment results to continue to improve as more of our adjustable contract and spot shipments realize the benefit of second quarter increases in index prices, partially offset by higher planned outage costs. We expect results for our European segment to be lower in the third quarter, primarily due to planned outages that coincide with normal seasonal customer demand patterns.”
Burritt concludes, “Based on our progress to date, we are increasing full-year 2018 adjusted EBITDA guidance to approximately $1.85 billion to $1.90 billion.”