UPDATE 2-GrafTech Q3 beats Street view, shares rise
* Q3 adj EPS $0.15 vs est $0.06/shr
* Net sales above Street view
* Raises FY09 operating income outlook
* Shares up 14 pct (Recasts, adds details, updates share movement)
Oct 29 (Reuters) - Graphite electrode maker GrafTech International Ltd (GTI.N) posted better-than-expected quarterly results, helped by cost cuts, and it also raised its operating profit view for the year by more than 25 percent.
Shares of the company rose more than 14 percent to $14.46 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
It expects 2009 operating income of $80 million to $85 million, up from its prior view of $60 million to $70 million.
In a statement, Chief Executive Craig Shular cited the stronger-than-anticipated worldwide steel operating rates as the reason for increasing its full-year operating income.
"We believe customers in various geographies have completed their graphite electrode destocking activities earlier than initially expected and began reordering in the third quarter," he said.
The World Steel Association recently said it expects global demand to rise 9.2 percent to about 1.21 billion tonnes next year. [nPEK171738]
The company, however, said steel end-market demand remains far below pre-crisis levels and the pace of recovery is expected to be slow.
GrafTech's electrodes are built into electric arc furnaces to recycle scrap metal into steel, a method that accounts for about one third of the global steel output.
For the latest quarter, net income was $6.9 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with $83.4 million, or 70 cents a share, a year ago.
On an operating basis, the company earned 15 cents a share, before items, beating market estimates of 6 cents a share. Net sales fell 48 percent to 165 million, scraping past Wall Street view of $162.1 million.
Selling and administrative expenses declined 25 percent to $18.6 million.
(Reporting by Biswarup Gooptu in Bangalore)
