Australia's biggest steelmaker BlueScope has repeated warnings that weaker prices in key markets like the United States and Australia will knock a sizeable hole in its first-half earnings.Fronting shareholders at its annual general meeting in Brisbane on Thursday, BlueScope's board reconfirmed forecasts for first-half earnings before interest and tax of about $274.5 million, a hefty 45 per cent drop on the $499 million EBIT recorded in the second half of financial year 2018-19.BlueScope chairman John Bevan told investors that financial year 2019 marked the third year in a row that Bluescope had recorded EBIT above $1.1 billion, and stressed that Bluescope was "now a very resilient global company with a strong balance sheet".But the weaker first-half result makes it seem unlikely that BlueScope could hit the $1.1 billion EBIT mark again this financial year."Financial year 2019 was our third year with back to back underlying earnings before interest and tax above $1.1 billion – a result achieved despite some softening in commodity steel spreads and volumes in the second half of the year and, of course, rising uncertainty in global markets caused by geopolitical factors and the US-China trade dispute," Mr Bevan said.Chief executive Mark Vassella said BlueScope's Australian business was trading in line with expectations, while siteworks were underway at its North Star mill in the US, which is seeing a $1 billion expansion."The first-half financial year 2020 outlook is softer than the prior half due to weaker commodity steel prices and spreads across our steelmaking businesses in the US, Australia and New Zealand. However, demand in BlueScope's major markets remains stable," he said.
Source : https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies