Sims expects weaker financial results

Nov 15, 2012 | 04:34 PM | Sean Davidson

Tags  scrap, Sims Metal Management, Daniel Dienst, Sean Davidson

NEW YORK — Sims Metal Management Ltd. anticipates a $21-million to $31-million decline in earnings in the first half of its fiscal year.

"Market conditions remain tough," chief executive officer Daniel W. Dienst said at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders in North Sydney, Australia, and the company expects underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) to be in a range of $110 million to $120 million in the six months ending Dec. 31, down from $141 million in the same period last year.

"In full-year fiscal 2012, we generated underlying Ebitda of $253 million. That result reflected tough markets characterized by weak scrap generation, tight metal margins and significant volatility, both in terms of ferrous pricing and periods of illiquid trading conditions in our important deep-sea ferrous markets. Despite a very recent significant lift in ferrous trading prices, market conditions remain as challenging so far in fiscal 2013 as they were in fiscal 2012," Dienst said.....