NZ's Steel & Tube year profit up 16 percent
WELLINGTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - New Zealand steel products maker Steel and Tube Ltd. (STU.NZ) reported a 16 percent rise in full year profit on Thursday, but said it expected a tougher year ahead.
The company said net profit after tax for the year to June 30 was NZ$26.1 million ($17.5 million) compared with NZ$22.5 million a year earlier.
Steel and Tube said it had seen considerable volatility over the past year, with soft trading expected to continue in the first half of the 2010 financial year.
The company declared a dividend of nine cents per share, compared with 10 cents last year.
Shares in Steel and Tube, 50 percent owned by Australia's One Steel (OST.AX), last traded up 4.2 percent at NZ$3.24. So far this year the stock is flat compared with a 13 percent rise in the benchmark NZX-50 index .NZ50.
At its half year report the company reported a strong first six months performance driven by high prices and demand, but said it was feeling the impact of the global slowdown.
Last month it said OneSteel executive Dave Taylor would be the new chief executive, taking over the post in October, after long-serving chief executive Nick Calavrias retired in April.
In October last year OneSteel abandoned a NZ$175 million bid for the rest of Steel and Tube because of volatile markets ($1=NZ$1.49)
