Exhibit 99.1
UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION REPORTS 2006 THIRD QUARTER RESULTS
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Earnings Highlights
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(Dollars in millions except per share data) 3Q 2006 2Q 2006 3Q 2005
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Net sales $ 4,106 $ 4,107 $ 3,200
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Segment income from operations
Flat-rolled Products $ 230 $ 212 $ 41
U. S. Steel Europe 219 188 21
Tubular Products 164 146 124
Other Businesses 39 33 21
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Total segment income from operations $ 652 $ 579 $ 207
Retiree benefit expenses (70) (65) (55)
Other items not allocated to segments (21) - (4)
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Income from operations $ 561 $ 514 $ 148
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Net interest and other financial costs 7 14 20
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Income tax provision 136 91 27
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Net income $ 417 $ 404 $ 93
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- Per basic share $ 3.44 $ 3.60 $ 0.77
- Per diluted share $ 3.42 $ 3.22 $ 0.71
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United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) reported third quarter 2006 net
income of $417 million, or $3.42 per diluted share, compared to second quarter
2006 net income of $404 million, or $3.22 per diluted share, and third quarter
2005 net income of $93 million, or $0.71 per diluted share.
Commenting on results, U. S. Steel Chairman and CEO John P. Surma said,
"Earnings for each of our business segments improved from the second quarter,
reflecting a very strong operating performance and favorable steel market
conditions."
The company reported third quarter 2006 income from operations of $561
million, compared with income from operations of $514 million in the second
quarter of 2006 and $148 million in the third quarter of 2005.
Other items not allocated to segments in the third quarter of 2006 reduced
net income by $21 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, and consisted of
employee severance and benefit charges for a workforce reduction of over
20 percent at our Serbian operations. In the second quarter of 2006, the income
tax provision included a favorable adjustment of $15 million, or 12 cents per
diluted share, related to the 2005 tax accrual.
We repurchased 4.7 million shares of U. S. Steel common stock for
$279 million during the third quarter, bringing total repurchases to
12.4 million shares for $650 million since the repurchase program was originally
authorized in July 2005.
Reportable Segments and Other Businesses
Management believes segment income from operations is a key measure in
evaluating company performance. U. S. Steel's reportable segments and Other
Businesses reported segment income from operations of $652 million, or $117 per
ton, in the third quarter of 2006, compared with $579 million, or $99 per ton,
in the second quarter of 2006 and $207 million, or $44 per ton, in the third
quarter of 2005.
Segment income from operations for the third quarter of 2006 increased
compared to the second quarter as average realized prices strengthened in all of
our reportable segments. Higher average realized prices were partially offset by
higher raw material costs and reduced shipment volumes.
Outlook
Commenting on U. S. Steel's outlook, Surma said, "We expect continued strong
results from our European and Tubular segments in the fourth quarter; however,
overall operating results are expected to decline from the third quarter,
primarily reflecting reduced profitability in our Flat-rolled segment. Recent
weakening in the U.S. economy coupled with high imports and customer inventory
levels have resulted in softer flat-rolled spot markets in the near term."
For Flat-rolled, we expect fourth quarter 2006 average realized prices and
shipments to be lower than in the third quarter, and costs are expected to
increase primarily due to several blast furnace outages and lower operating
rates. We will adjust the duration of these outages so that our operations are
in balance with our anticipated customer demand.
Fourth quarter average realized prices are expected to remain around the
third quarter level for U. S. Steel Europe (USSE), and higher costs are expected
to more than offset the anticipated increase in shipment volumes.
Average realized prices for the Tubular segment in the fourth quarter of
2006 are expected to decline slightly from third quarter levels, and shipments
will be significantly lower due to high levels of imports and customer efforts
to bring their inventories in line with demand.
Our longer-term outlook will be determined by overall economic growth
trends.
This release contains forward-looking statements with respect to market
conditions, operating costs, shipments and prices. Some factors, among others,
that could affect market conditions, costs, shipments and prices for both
domestic operations and USSE include global product demand, prices and mix;
global and company steel production levels; plant operating performance; the
timing and completion of facility projects; natural gas and electricity prices
and usage; raw materials availability and prices; the impact of fixed prices in
energy and raw materials contracts (many of which have terms of one year or
longer) as compared to shorter-term contracts and spot prices of steel products;
changes in environmental, tax and other laws; employee strikes; power outages or
curtailments; and U.S. and global economic performance and political
developments. Domestic steel shipments and prices could be affected by import
levels and actions taken by the U.S. Government and its agencies. Economic
conditions and political factors in Europe that may affect USSE's results
include, but are not limited to, taxation, nationalization, inflation, currency
fluctuations, increased regulation, export quotas, tariffs, and other
protectionist measures. In accordance with "safe harbor" provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, cautionary statements
identifying important factors, but not necessarily all factors, that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking
statements have been included in the Form 10-K of U. S. Steel for the year ended
December 31, 2005, and in subsequent filings for U. S. Steel.
A Statement of Operations (Unaudited), Other Financial Data (Unaudited) and
Preliminary Supplemental Statistics (Unaudited) for U. S. Steel are attached.
The company will conduct a conference call on third quarter earnings on
Tuesday, October 31, at 2 p.m. EST. To listen to the webcast of the conference
call, visit the U. S. Steel web site, http://www.ussteel.com, and click on the
"Investors" button.
For more information on U. S. Steel, visit its web site at
http://www.ussteel.com.
UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)
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Quarter Ended Nine Months Ended
------------------------------------ Sept. 30
Sept. 30 June 30 Sept. 30 ------------------------
(Dollars in millions) 2006 2006 2005 2006 2005
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NET SALES $ 4,106 $ 4,107 $ 3,200 $ 11,941 $ 10,569
OPERATING EXPENSES (INCOME):
Cost of sales (excludes items
shown below) 3,308 3,339 2,830 9,745 8,660
Selling, general and
administrative expenses 144 156 150 458 473
Depreciation, depletion and
amortization 113 114 88 339 274
Income from investees (19) (13) (2) (39) (28)
Net gains on disposal of assets - (1) (7) (2) (17)
Other income, net (1) (2) (7) (4) (10)
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Total operating expenses 3,545 3,593 3,052 10,497 9,352
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INCOME FROM OPERATIONS 561 514 148 1,444 1,217
Net interest and other financial
costs 7 14 20 37 113
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INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES
AND MINORITY INTERESTS 554 500 128 1,407 1,104
Income tax provision 136 91 27 317 275
Minority interests 1 5 8 13 28
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NET INCOME 417 404 93 1,077 801
Dividends on preferred stock - (4) (4) (8) (13)
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NET INCOME APPLICABLE TO COMMON
STOCK $ 417 $ 400 $ 89 $ 1,069 $ 788
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COMMON STOCK DATA:
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Net income per share:
- Basic $ 3.44 $ 3.60 $ .77 $ 9.39 $ 6.90
- Diluted $ 3.42 $ 3.22 $ .71 $ 8.67 $ 6.13
Weighted average shares, in
thousands
- Basic 121,270 111,129 113,980 113,764 114,054
- Diluted 121,964 125,242 130,339 124,226 130,583
Dividends paid per common share $ .15 $ .15 $ .10 $ .40 $ .28
UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION
OTHER FINANCIAL DATA (Unaudited)
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Nine Months Ended
Sept. 30
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Cash Flow Data (In millions) 2006 2005
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Cash provided from operating activities:
Net income $ 1,077 $ 801
Depreciation, depletion and amortization 339 274
Pensions and other postretirement benefits (199) (77)
Property tax settlement gain - (95)
Deferred income taxes 124 85
Changes in: Current receivables (335) 153
Inventories (180) (137)
Current accounts payable
and accrued expenses 211 (104)
Other operating activities (2) (16)
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Total 1,035 884
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Cash used in investing activities:
Capital expenditures (397) (473)
Other investing activities 12 36
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Total (385) (437)
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Cash used in financing activities:
Repayment of long-term debt (277) (7)
Common stock repurchased (396) (52)
Dividends paid (54) (45)
Other financing activities 8 21
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Total (719) (83)
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Effect of exchange rate changes on cash - (7)
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Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (69) 357
Cash at beginning of the year 1,479 1,037
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Cash at end of the period $ 1,410 $ 1,394
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Sept. 30 Dec. 31
Balance Sheet Data (In millions) 2006 2005
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Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,410 $ 1,479
Receivables, net 2,018 1,609
Inventories 1,673 1,466
Other current assets 184 288
Property, plant and equipment, net 4,269 4,015
Investments and long-term receivables, net 288 292
Intangible pension asset 252 251
Other assets 368 422
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Total assets $ 10,462 $ 9,822
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Accounts payable $ 1,355 $ 1,256
Payroll and benefits payable 1,102 912
Short-term debt and current maturities of long-term
debt 26 249
Other current liabilities 285 332
Long-term debt, less unamortized discount 1,327 1,363
Employee benefits 1,786 2,008
Other long-term liabilities and minority interests 386 378
Stockholders' equity 4,195 3,324
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Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 10,462 $ 9,822
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UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION
PRELIMINARY SUPPLEMENTAL STATISTICS (Unaudited)
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Quarter Ended Nine Months Ended
-------------------------------------- Sept. 30
Sept. 30 June 30 Sept. 30 ------------------------
(Dollars in millions) 2006 2006 2005 2006 2005
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INCOME FROM OPERATIONS
Flat-rolled Products $ 230 $ 212 $ 41 $ 569 $ 566
U. S. Steel Europe 219 188 21 532 390
Tubular Products 164 146 124 487 379
Other Businesses 39 33 21 72 27
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Segment Income from Operations 652 579 207 1,660 1,362
Retiree benefit expenses(a) (70) (65) (55) (190) (208)
Other items not allocated to
segments:
Workforce reduction charges (21) - (3) (21) (9)
Asset impairment charge - - - (5) -
Property tax settlement gain - - - - 70
Stock appreciation rights - - (1) - 2
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Total Income from Operations $ 561 $ 514 $ 148 $ 1,444 $ 1,217
CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
Flat-rolled Products $ 46 $ 32 $ 83 $ 147 $ 220
U. S. Steel Europe 67 51 67 162 175
Tubular Products 1 1 1 2 4
Other Businesses 32 40 43 86 74
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Total $ 146 $ 124 $ 194 $ 397 $ 473
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(a) Includes certain profit-based expenses for U. S. Steel retirees and
National retirees pursuant to provisions of the 2003 labor agreement
with the United Steelworkers of America.
UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION
PRELIMINARY SUPPLEMENTAL STATISTICS (Unaudited)
-----------------------------------------------
Quarter Ended Nine Months Ended
------------------------------ Sept. 30
Sept. 30 June 30 Sept. 30 -------------------
(Dollars in millions) 2006 2006 2005 2006 2005
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OPERATING STATISTICS
Average realized price: ($/net
ton)
Flat-rolled Products(a) $ 651 $ 624 $ 586 $ 630 $ 624
U. S. Steel Europe 640 581 562 589 631
Tubular Products 1,491 1,479 1,393 1,492 1,281
Steel Shipments:(a)(b)
Flat-rolled Products 3,695 3,878 3,191 11,102 9,950
U. S. Steel Europe 1,552 1,652 1,230 4,712 3,852
Tubular Products 303 298 264 920 864
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Total Steel Shipments 5,550 5,828 4,685 16,734 14,666
Raw Steel-Production:(b)
Domestic Facilities 4,359 4,585 3,514 13,085 11,414
U. S. Steel Europe 1,734 1,803 1,200 5,290 4,234
Raw Steel-Capability
Utilization:(c)
Domestic Facilities 89.1% 94.8% 71.9% 90.2% 78.7%
U. S. Steel Europe 92.7% 97.4% 64.1% 95.3% 76.2%
Domestic iron ore production(b) 5,953 5,493 5,878 16,919 16,930
Domestic coke production(b)(d) 1,446 1,485 1,602 4,421 4,607
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(a) Excludes intersegment transfers.
(b) Thousands of net tons.
(c) Based on annual raw steel production capability for domestic facilities
of 19.4 million net tons and annual raw steel production capability for
U. S. Steel Europe of 7.4 million net tons.
(d) Includes the Clairton 1314B Partnership.
SOURCE United States Steel Corporation
-0- 10/31/2006
/CONTACT: John Armstrong, +1-412-433-6792, or Investors-Analysts: Nick
Harper, +1-412-433-1184, both of United States Steel Corporation/
/Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/929150.html/
/Web site: http://www.ussteel.com/
(X)