Arcontech Share Discussion Threads

[grupo guitarlumber] 16/8/2004 09:56

BlueScope Steel May Say 2nd-Half Profit Rose 61% on Price Jump
Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- BlueScope Steel Ltd., Australia's largest steelmaker, may report second-half profit rose 61 percent after steel prices surged because of increased demand from the U.S. and China.

Net income may have risen to A$337 million ($238 million) in the six months ended June 30, from A$209.7 million, according to the median estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Melbourne-based BlueScope will report earnings on Aug. 19 before trading starts in Australia.

BlueScope and rivals such as Korea's Posco are benefiting from global steel demand that's expected to rise 6.1 percent this year, according to the International Iron & Steel Institute. Arcelor SA, the world's biggest steelmaker, has increased prices three times this year and expects further gains.

``The ongoing price increases in hot-rolled steel prices have far exceeded market forecasts, and strong earnings can be expected,'' said Rob Craigie, a senior analyst at FW Holst & Co. in Melbourne. ``More importantly, prices in all regions are higher now than in the June half, and if that holds the outlook for the rest of the year will be very strong.''

Shares of BlueScope, which closed at a record A$7.85 on Aug. 12, have risen 39 percent this year and traded at A$7.79 at 10:21 a.m. Sydney time.

Luxembourg-based Arcelor last month said its second-quarter profit almost quadrupled, while U.S. Steel Corp., the biggest steelmaker in the Americas, posted its highest-ever quarterly profit since 1991. Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., the listed arm of China's biggest steelmaker, this month posted a 26 percent increase in first-half profit after it raised prices on surging demand.

Rising Prices

The import market price for hot-rolled steel sheet, the industry benchmark, in the U.S., rose 77 percent in the six months to June compared with a year ago, while Chinese steel prices rose 48 percent for the same period, according to Metal Bulletin.

Hot-rolled products accounted for 80 percent of BlueScope Steel's pretax earnings in the first half. The company, which gets about 60 percent of its sales from outside of Australia, is planning a new A$150 million plant and this year bought Butler Manufacturing Co., a U.S. maker of custom-designed steel buildings, to take advantage of rising demand.

For the full year, the company may post a profit of A$564 million, compared with A$452 million a year ago, according to the same survey. The company in May forecast full-year net income of A$550 million.

OneSteel

OneSteel Ltd., Australia's second-largest steel company, will probably post an 85 percent increase in second-half profit to A$72.2 million, from A$39.1 million a year ago, according to the median of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Sydney-based OneSteel may post full-year profit of A$117.7 million, compared with A$94 million a year ago. OneSteel last month said its net income, including a tax gain of A$20 million, will likely be between A$122 million and A$127 million after it sold a property and sales were ``very strong'' in May and June.

OneSteel, which has gained 38 percent this year, will report earnings on Aug. 17. Its shares rose 2.2 percent to A$2.79 at 10:22 a.m. Sydney time.

[addict] 09/8/2004 15:14

More director buying.

[explorer88] 07/8/2004 13:48

Check out OMG (www.omg3d.com / www.vicon.com)

With world class products, new markets opening up and cash available for further acquisitions, we expect OMG's turnover to increase dramatically in the next twelve months. Our fair value price targets for OMG are:

July 2005 : 52p (market cap. £28 million) + 116% on current level
July 2006 : 91p (market cap. £49 million) + 279% on current level

Current Price : 24p (market cap. £13 million)

Siggraph event starting Monday 9th August will generate significant sales for new MX system

[melchor] 06/8/2004 23:42

it is intriguing how many errors appear for our information - today there have been massive buys, and yet one looks at the trades and one is in doubt. I thought this information was meant to be at least reasonably reliable - i have bought into this company on only two occassions, and every time it has appeared as sells!!!!!! - look at the price of the deals for guidance, after all, without adequate and accurate information, what else can we look at ..... it is very annoying though,if we want to take decisions.

in any case, i thnk people are realising this company is working ... and working towards becoming a trusted deliverer of wht they have been promising ..... i'm in the business of advising start-ups, and any start up tht brings in a business plan with profit within the first six months makes me doubt ... these are getting it together .... i think this company will be another ASOS, but maybe better, because their bottom line is not that variable.
i like it,

VENI, VIDI, VINCI ... and a touch of patience.

Ciao

[themoreiseeyou] 06/8/2004 15:38

It will be very interesting to find out why an institution would be willing to pay above the prevailing market price for shares in a company of this size or any company for that matter. Usually in a company of this size shares are bought at a generous discount usually 10-50%. Perhaps these institutions had agreed to buy these shares in advance at this price depending on shareholder approval and certain performance targets (although this would be very unusual). Time will tell.

[addict] 06/8/2004 14:02

Laugh a minute-MM´s were hoping noone would notice.Multibagger in the making IMHO...DYOR.

[melchor] 06/8/2004 13:58

Up again, as I wrote the last message.

If there's anther mm deal, there must be a nicely loaded backlog of orders to satisfy.

[melchor] 06/8/2004 13:57

The MM's are short - the 250000 transaction by one of them is the only one so far registered. My Buy of 45 mins ago is not in yet.

[addict] 06/8/2004 13:35

Placing above current share price-market´s slow to react to a very encouraging outlook.DYOR.

[johnwwwilkinson] 30/7/2004 19:09

Arcelor 2nd-Qtr Profit Surges as Steel Prices Rise (Update3)
July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Arcelor SA, the world's biggest steelmaker, said second-quarter profit almost quadrupled to a record as it increased prices for a second time and cut costs. It expects to raise prices again in the fourth quarter.

Net profit in the three months ended June 30 rose to 631 million euros ($760 million), or 1.25 euros a share, from 166 million euros, or 35 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The company was expected to report earnings of 375 million euros, according to the median estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Arcelor, created in a three-way merger in 2002, has led European steelmakers in limiting output gains to bolster prices as demand stagnated. The Luxembourg-based company boosted steel prices twice in the first half of the year and already pushed through a third increase since then.

``There is still room to increase prices,'' Chief Executive Guy Dolle said in a telephone interview from the company's headquarters in Luxembourg. ``Raw material prices have increased a lot and will increase next year.''

Fourth quarter prices for flat carbon steel used in everything from cars to domestic appliances should rise by between 4 percent and 5 percent, the 61-year-old chief executive said. The company will also be looking for a 20 percent increase in its annual contract prices, with talks due to start in November, he said.

Annual Contracts

The contracts represent about a quarter of Arcelor's steel shipments and include packaging, automotive and domestic appliance manufacturing customers. The company's automotive customers include Renault SA and PSA Peugeot Citroen of France.

Arcelor made cost savings of 250 million euros in the first half of the year, compared with the year-ago period, Dolle said.

Producers in the 25-nation European Union boosted output by 4.3 percent in the first half, compared to a 12 percent gain in Asia, the biggest steelmaking region, according to the International Iron and Steel Institute.

Arcelor is producing at about 5 percent below capacity and expects to be at that level for the rest of the year because of a shortage of materials such as coke, Dolle said.

European hot-rolled coil export prices have risen 87 percent this year to $570 a metric ton, according to the Metal Bulletin.

Dolle is cutting costs by boosting output outside of Europe, where Arcelor currently employs about four-fifths of its workforce and gets three-quarters of sales.

Brazilian Assets

Arcelor sold 1.17 billion euros of new shares this month to purchase a controlling stake in Brazilian steelmaker Cia. Siderurgica de Tubarao. Dolle has said he will to increase his stakes in Brazilian operations to 100 percent where possible.

Steel costs about a fifth less to make in Latin America than in continental Western Europe, according to Metal Bulletin.

Arcelor's sales increased 14 percent to 7.7 billion euros. The steelmaker's first-half gross operating margin rose to more than 12 percent, from 9.4 percent last year. Debt fell to 3.53 billion euros at the end of June, from 4.03 billion euros at the end of the first quarter.

First-half shipments of flat carbon steel used in everything from cars to domestic appliances rose 5.6 percent to 14.2 million tons. Sales to carmakers, which account for about one-third of flat carbon demand, were 3 percent higher.

Shipments in long carbon steel used in construction were 16 percent higher at 6.9 million tons. Sales of stainless steel and alloys fell 9.6 percent to 1.2 million tons after it sold units in Thailand and the U.S.

European Demand

European demand grew at between 3 percent and 3.5 percent in the first half of the year and should average about 3 percent in the second half, Dolle said.

``I am optimistic for our shipments for the end of the year,'' the chief executive said.

Arcelor's shares closed up 52 cents, or 4 percent, at 13.62 euros yesterday in Paris. They have gained 1.9 percent this year, better than the 4.5 percent rise in the 16-member Bloomberg Europe Iron/Steel Index. Arcelor has a market capitalization of 8.7 billion euros.

``The key for me in terms of where the share price goes from here is how does the second half of this year look and how does 2005 look in terms of steel pricing and input costs?'' London-based Gary Clarke, who manages the $122-million Gartmore European Focus Fund, said ahead of the earnings. The fund has Arcelor as its top steel pick.

[rcktmn] 29/7/2004 08:35

Very encouraging news. Lets hope this helps to bring about profitability quickly. Could do with the share price getting back to the level, and better, that I bought into about a year ago (nearly 2p)

[addict] 29/7/2004 08:19

Today's announcement is big for a company with a market cap below £3m.

[johnwwwilkinson] 27/7/2004 18:52

Related Company News

European Steelmakers' Earnings to Peak Next Year, CSFB Says
July 27, 2004 11:28 EDT -- Arcelor SA, ThyssenKrupp AG and other European steelmakers will probably see their earnings peak next year rather than in 2004 because steel prices won't decline any time soon, Credit Suisse First Boston said in a note to clients.

Global Steel 2004 Output May Exceed 1 Billion Tons, MEPS Says
July 27, 2004 08:35 EDT -- World steel production will probably exceed 1 billion metric tons this year, led by gains in China, Sheffield, U.K.-based industry consultant MEPS (International) Ltd. said in an article on its Web site.

Corus Shares Gain on Outlook for Gain in European Steel Demand
July 27, 2004 07:32 EDT -- Shares of Corus Group Plc, Europe's No. 3 steelmaker, gained after European steel industry group Eurofer said regional steel demand will probably increase by 2.8 percent this year.

Europe's 2004 Steel Demand Forecast to Rise 2.8%, Eurofer Says
July 27, 2004 04:42 EDT -- European steel demand will likely rise 2.8 percent this year as builders, carmakers and domestic appliance manufacturers increase their purchases, European steel industry group Eurofer said.

[grupo guitarlumber] 22/7/2004 08:56

PARIS (AFX) - Arcelor SA said 93.5 pct of the warrants were exercised in its
1.17 bln eur capital increase.
Arcelor announced the capital increase at the end of last month, to finance
its acquisition of a controlling 61.8 pct stake in Brazil's Companhia
Siderurgica de Tubarao (CST).
It said 34.9 mln warrants remain unexercised at the end of the take-up
period, and the 6.9 mln new shares underlying these warrants will be placed
today through an international placement outside the US.
[e-mail]
sr/ec

[maywillow] 19/7/2004 22:15

nice one jwww

[johnwwwilkinson] 19/7/2004 22:06

Arcelor Automotive and Material Sciences Corporation Announce Strategic Alliance to Market Quiet Steel(R) Noise and Vibration Solutions to European Automakers

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill., July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Material
Sciences Corporation (NYSE: MSC) and Arcelor (Paris: CELR) have signed a
Strategic Alliance covering the manufacturing, marketing and sales of Quiet
Steel(R) products in the European market.
"The target of this Strategic Alliance is to promote Quiet Steel(R)
solutions to European carmakers. Comfort and sound quality is becoming more
important in the development of new vehicles. This new alliance is dedicated
to providing superior Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) performance of
body-in-white components and powertrain applications. Quiet Steel is designed
to control noise at the source which eliminates the need to use secondary
sound treatments that add significant cost and mass to a vehicle," said
Clifford D. Nastas, MSC Vice President and General Manager.
Quiet Steel(R) is a suite of engineered multilayer composites with various
viscoelastic cores among layers of metal. These 100% recyclable laminated
steel materials offer significant cost reduction opportunities and enhanced
Noise, Vibration, and Harshness performance characteristics.
"MSC will be in charge of product and application engineering and Arcelor
will manage Quiet Steel(R) production on our LTS Montataire line. In addition,
Arcelor will provide MSC with extensive access to European automakers through
our existing network of automotive customer teams. It is truly a winning
combination to accelerate market acceptance of this value added application of
steel in the automotive industry," said Christophe Cornier, Arcelor Automotive
Chief Executive Officer.

About Arcelor
Arcelor is the world's largest steel producer, with a turnover of
25.9 billion euros and shipments of 40.2 million metric tons of steel in 2003.
Employing 98,000 employees in over 60 countries, the company is a major player
in all its main markets: automotive, construction, household appliances and
packaging as well as general industry.

About Material Sciences
Material Sciences Corporation is a leading provider of material-based
solutions for electronic, acoustical/thermal and coated metal applications.
MSC uses its expertise in materials, which it leverages through relationships
and a network of partners, to solve customer-specific problems, overcoming
technical barriers and enhancing performance. MSC differentiates itself on
the basis of its strong customer orientation, knowledge of materials combined
with a deep understanding of its markets, and the offer of specific value
propositions that define how it will create and share economic value with its
customers. The company's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under
the symbol MSC and is included in the Standard & Poor's Small Cap 600 Index
and the Russell 2000 Index.
Information about Material Sciences through the Internet is available at
and .

SOURCE Material Sciences Corporation
Web Site:

[grupo guitarlumber] 13/7/2004 20:50

Posco predicts rise in global steel prices
By Song Jung-a in Seoul
Published: July 13 2004 15:52 | Last Updated: July 13 2004 15:52


Posco, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker, expects a steady increase in global steel prices due to stable demand from China, in spite of Beijing's efforts to cool its economy by tackling over- investment.


The South Korean steel producer, which sells three-quarters of its output at home, had record earnings in the first half, powered by domestic price hikes and strong overseas demand on the back of the global economic recovery.

"Steel prices in China and the rest of Asia will continue to rise as we expect a soft landing of the Chinese economy, despite the government policy to rein in growth," the company said.

Posco's upbeat forecasts contrast with those of Luxembourg-based Arcelor, the world's biggest steel maker, which predicted in June that the price rises of the past two years were unsustainable because of slowing demand in China and sluggish economic growth in Europe.

China is Posco's biggest overseas market, accounting for a third of group exports. Brisk sales in the country helped Posco record a net profit of Won1,634bn ($1.4bn) in the first half, up 60 per cent from a year ago. Its sales rose 33 per cent to Won9,039bn as exports to China increased 20 per cent to 1.4m tonnes.

In spite of worries about falling demand from China, Posco said it would continue to expand production capacity in the country, which consumes a quarter of the world's steel output. It plans to invest $2.35bn in China by 2006, most of it in four steel manufacturing joint ventures in the country.

Analysts said any weakening in Chinese demand would not have a big impact on Posco as the steelmaker focused on exporting high-value and specialised steel products, such as automotive steel, that less advanced manufacturers could not master. "In the case of high-end steel products, which cannot be made by Chinese steelmakers, supply is still tight," said Cho Pyo-hoon, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.

Analysts were upbeat on Posco's second-half outlook, as the steelmaker is expected to raise domestic prices again, following two previous increases.

Posco raised domestic prices of hot-rolled coil by about 34 per cent in the first half to Won485,000 per tonne and is expected to raise the prices by up to 10 per cent in the third quarter.

Industry consolidation has left the company dwarfed by bigger rivals such as Luxembourg-based Arcelor and Netherlands-listed LNM Group. But it remains the world's most profitable steelmaker.

[waldron] 08/7/2004 19:45

From e4engineering.com, 08 July 2004

Revolutionary steel

Scientists at the University of Virginia (U.Va.) have announced the discovery of a non-magnetic amorphous material that is three times stronger than conventional steel and has superior anti-corrosion properties.
A future variation of the new material, called DARVA-Glass 101, could be used for making ship hulls, lighter cars, tall buildings, corrosion-resistant coatings, surgical instruments and recreational equipment. The scientists say commercial use of the material could be available within three to five years.
The material, made up of steel alloys that possess a randomised arrangement of atoms, was discovered by modifying an earlier version of amorphous steel known as DARVA-Glass 1 reported by the U.Va. researchers at the Autumn 2002 meeting of the Materials Research Society. In May of this year they reported on DARVA-Glass 101 in the Journal of Materials Research.
"Amorphous steels can potentially revolutionise the steel industry," said Joseph Poon, professor of physics at U.Va. and principal investigator for the team that has discovered the material and is now making alterations of it for possible future use in mass production.
Poon's U.Va. co-investigators are Gary Shiflet, professor of materials science and engineering, and Vijayabarathi Ponnambalam, materials physicist.
According to Poon, researchers have been trying for years to make amorphous steel in sizes large enough to have practical use. The U.Va researchers have succeeded in producing large-size amorphous steel samples that can be further scaled up. They achieve this by adding a small dose of a rare earth element or yttrium to DARVA-Glass 1.
The researchers believe that the large size rare earth or yttrium atom causes destabilisation of the competing crystal structure wherein the significant atomic level stress can lead to the formation of the amorphous structure. These discoveries make the U.Va. researchers optimistic that the material will be economically available within the decade.
In a separate work, a group led by C.T. Liu, a materials scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, has also reported on large size amorphous steel similar to DARVA-Glass 101, also by modifying the DARVA-Glass 1 discovered by the U.Va scientists.
Poon said the amorphous steel is extremely strong, but brittle in its current state. "We need to toughen the material more," he said. "We can always make it better."
According to the U.Va. researchers, amorphous steel can be machined as well as manipulated like a plastic. "It can be squeezed, compressed, flattened and shaped," said Poon.
The material is of particular interest to the US Navy for making non-magnetic ship hulls, particularly for submarines, which are detectable by the magnetic field of their hulls. The amorphous steel that the U.Va. team is refining is non-magnetic, potentially making a ship invisible to magnetism detectors and mines that are detonated by magnetic fields. The new material also may be useful for producing lighter but harder armour-piercing projectiles.

[ariane] 07/7/2004 15:27

Plastic replacing iron, steel to cut corrosion

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Jeff Patterson
Post staff reporter

Cinergy is replacing more than 1,250 miles of cast iron and steel gas mains with plastic ones in Ohio and 125 miles in Northern Kentucky.
The Accelerated Main Replacement Program is designed to improve the reliability of Cinergy's gas lines.

The oldest mains replaced are more than 100 years old, said Cinergy spokesman Steve Brash. Most mains are between 50 to 70 years old.

"Plastic provides a very long-term approach that is not subject to corrosion," Brash said.

"It is certainly worth the value of the replacement because of their addition and reliability to the system."

The old mains were still working fine, Brash said.

"There were no immediate concerns for safety," said Doug Roell, coordinator for Newport's Interdepartmental Enforcement Team.

"It's just at the end of a useful life."

Sections of Newport, mainly up in the hills, are being worked on heavily, Roell said.

Most of Newport should have plastic gas lines by the end of this year, Roell said.

Cinergy started the 10-year project in late 2001.




Publication Date: 07-07-2004

[ariane] 01/7/2004 15:30

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) - Anglo-Dutch company LNM Group, the world's second
largest iron and steel producer, plans to purchase over 100 mln usd worth of raw
materials and equipment from China this year, up from last year's 5 mln usd,
Xinhua news agency reported, citing the group's CEO Malay Mukherjee.
The purchases are expected to expand to 200 mln usd in 2005 and 300 mln usd
in 2006, the report said.
Xinhua quoted Mukherjee as saying that China is rich in natural resources
and raw materials, and that LNM will step up procurement in China to lower the
group's production expansion costs in eastern European countries.
The strategy of the LNM Group is to play a leading role in the consolidation
of the global steel industry and position itself as a low cost producer of high
quality steel, the report said.
LNM Group will mainly purchase fire-resistant materials, alloy iron,
metallurgy products, coke and graphite electrodes from China.
The group said in mid-January that it plans to build a 100 mln usd steel
plant in the northeastern seaport city of Yingkou to supply the booming auto,
construction and home appliance markets.
LNM Group now has three sales offices in China located in Beijing, Guangzhou
and Urumqi.
[e-mail]
ws/ap/rc

[themoreiseeyou] 01/7/2004 11:10

Time will tell, but 14 grand is 14 grand. I amd sure that there are other (legal) ways of manipulating the share price that don't involve dipping your hands into your pockets. I take your point about Directors often being overly optimistic.

[dell314] 01/7/2004 10:49

themoreiseeyou - A few grand of director buys don't tell you much.
Directors are often overly optimistic about their own company's prospects and can sometimes buy shares to manipulate the price higher for a fund raising. Sometimes their own performance measures are also linked to the share price
Unless a director spends a major portion of their annual salary on stock, I'd say that director buys are best not given too much significance.

Rgds
dell

[themoreiseeyou] 01/7/2004 10:40

Don't despair remember the chairman of the company usually knows more about its future prospects and development than anyone else. Rob Whiting bought 500,000 shares in November 2003 @0.015p and 500,000 in March 2004 @ 0.0137. He would have known at these points about the need to raise money at a lower price. Directors are greedy and egotistical they don't like to lose money or see their company fail.
Don't despair the short/medium future might surprise us all.

[tony14] 01/7/2004 10:18

Oh dear, down again, no doubt news re placing to be announced soon.