California Steel Industries Reports Increased Revenue

By Josh Brown, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.

Apr. 17–Fontana-based California Steel Industries Inc. this week said revenue picked up considerably last quarter amid higher orders and price hikes.

The company reported sales rose 17 percent last quarter to $369.2 million from $314 million during the same quarter last year. Net income also jumped to $9.6 million from $1.3 million.

California Steel operates the largest steel mill in the western United States and is a key supplier of structural steel to the region.

Despite the stronger numbers, executives told investors and analysts in a conference call Thursday they expect 2008 to be a “challenging year.”

Ricardo Bernardes, the company’s chief financial officer, said the U.S. economy is still a concern as is the availability to steel slabs, which California Steel uses in its manufacturing process.

The company recently increased prices $100 to $110 per ton of steel, Bernardes said. Other price increases are planned for the year to keep up with the rising demand for steel.

The company has also implemented a wide-ranging cost-cutting program in an effort to bring up profits amid slower expected sales.

The steelmaker, owned by Japan’s JFE Steel and Brazil’s Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, employs about 1,000 workers.

—–

To see more of The Press-Enterprise, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.PE.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

5411, JFEEF, RIO,