US drives improved earnings guidance for Bluescope

Bluescope has increased its guidance for earnings before interest, tax for the second half of FY2022 from between $1.2 billion and $1.35 billion to between $1.375 and $1.475 billion, credited to improved performance among its US businesses.

In a statement to the ASX on Wednesday, the steelmaker said the Ohio North Star steel plant and its North American coated steel business were behind the improved outlook since the last update comments, given in February.

Last month Bluescope announced the acquisition of Coil Coatings, the second-biggest metal painter in the US, from Cornerstone Building Brands Inc for US $500 million. According to the company, this nearly triples its US metallic coating and painting capacity to over 1.3 million metric tonnes annually.

In the update, the company described expectations for its other businesses as remaining “broadly stable”.

“Throughout recent macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility, BlueScope has continued to demonstrate strength and resilience in its business performance,” said CEO Mark Vassella.  

The Australian Steel Products division — which employs 6,000 people — saw “softer than expected domestic despatch levels” since the last update, offset by “stronger realised steel spreads combined with better than expected contributions from the downstream businesses.”

Bluescope will give its full-year results for 2021/2022 on August 15.

Picture: Cornerstone Building Brands

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