RUSSEL METALS $23.07 (Toronto symbol RUS; SI Rating: Speculative) (905-819-7777; www.russelmetals.com; Shares outstanding: 59.7 million; Market cap: $871.6 million) is one of North America’s largest metal distributors. Russel serves its roughly 18,000 customers through a network of 58 Canadian and 12 U.S. locations.
In the three months ended March 31, 2009, Russel reported a loss of $55 million, or $0.92 a share. A year earlier, the company posted a profit of $29 million, or $0.46 a share.
The latest quarter included a $94-million, pre-tax writedown of inventory caused by the continued sharp drop in steel prices. During the quarter, the slowing global economy drove down steel demand by roughly 37%. Without the writedown, Russel would have made $0.10 a share. Revenue fell 9.8%, to $642.2 million from $712.3 million.
Conserving cash
Russel has already moved to control its costs and conserve cash. In the latest quarter, it cut 500 jobs (or 16.7% of its workforce), lowered executive pay by 10% and reduced its remaining…
Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
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Changes to this Policy
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