May 6 2005
IPSCO has announced its Montpelier, Iowa Steelworks experienced an electrical short in a motor located in the rolling mill that will result in a maintenance outage expected to last 6 days. Consequently, the Company will experience higher maintenance costs, decreased production, and reduced commercial volumes, which is estimated to result in a decrease in earnings of $0.05 per diluted share for the quarter.
The Company has taken a number of actions that should mitigate the cost of the outage. It is expected the impact on sales volumes will be moderated, as slab production will replace higher value products while the rolling mill is down. Due to the similar production capabilities in IPSCO’s three steelmaking facilities, the Company also believes that customer orders will not be disrupted.
“We are fully capable of shifting production utilizing our other facilities and will dip into inventories to meet our customers needs during this outage,” said David Sutherland, CEO and President of IPSCO. “While we never like to experience these issues, our footprint is designed to be flexible to adapt to such challenges as can be seen by the minimal expected impact on customers and earnings with this outage,” he said.
http://www.ipsco.com
6th May 20005