Northwestern Steel & Wire Co. said it lost $58.3 million.
September 12, 1997 | Chicago Tribune

Northwestern Steel & Wire Co. said it lost $58.3 million, or $2.34 per share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, a reversal from a profit of $9.9 million, or 40 cents per share, a year earlier, when fewer shares were outstanding.

The Sterling, Ill.-based mini-mill said sales in the quarter, ended July 31, inched up 1 percent, to $180.4 million from $177.8 million.

Northwestern Steel said excluding a charge related to the closing of its Houston structural mill during the quarter, the company earned $1.5 million, or 6 cents per share, in the latest quarter. Excluding tax benefits of $8.8 million, or 35 cents per share, the company earned $1.1 million, or 5 cents per share, a year earlier.

For the fiscal year, it said it lost $63.1 million, or $2.54 per share, compared with net income of $20.7 million, or 83 cents per share, a year earlier. Sales fell 3 percent, to $641 million from $661.1 million.