Esmark Reports 1st Quarter Results
06/10/2008 - Esmark reports a net loss of $15.8 million on net sales of $600.1 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008, with results reflecting the contribution of both Esmark Steel Service Group and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel.
Esmark Inc. reported a net loss of $15.8 million on net sales of $600.1 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008. Results reflect the contribution of both Esmark Steel Service Group, Inc. (ESSG) and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp. as a result of the merger on November 27, 2007. Comparative 2007 results referenced here include only ESSG.
The net loss of $15.8 million ($(0.40) per basic and diluted share) compares to a net loss of $0.2 million ($(0.51) per basic and diluted share) for the first quarter of 2007. Consolidated EBITDA of $11.4 million compares to EBITDA of $3.5 million for the first quarter of 2007.
Net sales totaled $600.1 million on shipments of 789,164 tons. The average selling price was $760 per ton. Cost of sales amounted to $553.4 million, and the average cost per ton sold was $701. Comparisons to prior quarter results are not meaningful due to the acquisition of Wheeling-Pittsburgh.
“As projected in our earnings call comments on April 30, I am pleased to report positive EBITDA for the first quarter, our first full quarter as a merged entity, evidencing the progress made by our management team and our entire workforce,” commented Esmark Chairman and CEO, James P. Bouchard. “As expected, both ESSG and Wheeling-Pittsburgh contributed positively to this result.
“Finally,” concluded Bouchard, “we take great satisfaction from the denial by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Massey's appeal of the July 2007 Brooke County Circuit Court verdict, validating the position which Wheeling-Pittsburgh has taken from the outset.”
Esmark Inc., headquartered in Wheeling, W.Va., is a vertically integrated steel producer and distributor, combining steel production capabilities through both blast furnace and electric arc furnace technologies with the just-in-time delivery of value-added steel products to a broad customer base concentrated in the Ohio Valley and Midwest regions.
