UPDATE 1-Steel Dynamics Q4 profit lags Wall St view

* Q4 EPS 12 cents lags Wall St view of 17 cts

* Revenue drops 3 percent to $1.17 bln

* Shares slip in post-market trade

NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Steel Dynamics Inc (STLD.O) posted a fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday after a loss a year earlier, but fell short of Wall Street forecasts and its shares dipped in post-market trade.

Net earnings were $26.7 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with a loss in the 2008 quarter of $82.7 million, or 45 cents per share. Revenue fell 3 percent to $1.18 billion.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 17 cents per share and revenue of $1.08 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

In December, Steel Dynamics had forecast a fourth-quarter earnings range of 10 cents to 20 cents a share that trailed analysts estimates at the time, on lower shipments and margin compression at its metals recycling segment.

Shares in Steel Dynamics dipped 1 percent in post-market trade to $15.76 per share, extending the 2.7 percent drop during the regular trading session.

(Reporting by Steve James; editing by Gunna Dickson)