On Tuesday, steelmaker Ternium announced its earnings for Q3 and year-to-date 2012 as well as provided an outlook for the remainder of the year. In Q3, net income was $146.6 million, up from $125.1 million in Q2 and $23.4 million in Q3 2011. For the first nine months of 2012, however, earnings fell $51.3 million year-on-year to $462.2 million.
Sales of flat and long products in the North America region were $1.2 billion in Q3 2012, a decrease of 6 percent compared to the same period in 2011 mainly due to lower revenue per ton, partially offset by higher shipments. Shipments in the region totaled 1.4 million tons during Q3 2012, or 3 percent higher than in the same period in 2011.
Flat and long product sales in the South and Central America region were $940 million during Q3 2012, a decrease of 14 percent compared to the same period in 2011 mainly as a result of lower shipments and lower revenue per ton. Shipments in the region totaled 876,000 tons during Q3, or 11 percent lower than in Q3 2011.
Ternium said that it expects steel demand in the Americas to increase in 2013 as a result of gradually improving market conditions in North America and Brazil. In Q4, the company anticipates shipments to remain relatively stable compared to Q3 2012, with a lower steel production level in Argentina as a result of the outage for repairs of a blast furnace. Ternium expects reduced operating income in the last quarter of the year compared to Q3 2012 mainly due to lower average prices in the North America region and higher operating costs.