Lakeside Steel Inc., a pipe & tube manufacturer with plants in Canada and the United States, reported fiscal 2012 second quarter results ended September 30, 2011 with revenue at $47,771,086. This is a 28.1% decrease from fiscal 2011’s second quarter.

For the six months ended September 30, 2012, revenue was down 21.7% to $100,799,032 from the same period the year before. The Company reported a $7.6 million loss in Q2 2012. The reasons for the loss were attributed to low priced imports, higher raw material costs, start-up costs for the U.S. sites in Alabama, Corpus Christi and Houston, and the costs associated with shutting down the Welland plant for nine days.

Ron Bedard, President and Chief Operating Officer, commented: "The first half of this fiscal year has been a challenge for the Company as the rapid and sustained shift in customer demand towards fully finished OCTG products, the constraints in thermal treatment and end finishing capacity in the market, higher cost of goods sold and the presence of low cost overseas imports of plain end products all contributed to an erosion of the Company's margins.”

The Company's new casing mill in Alabama will start production this month, with an estimated capacity of 192,000 annual tons. The Company press release said, “The thermal treatment and end finishing facility for tubing products will be completed in January 2012. This facility will add 67,000 annual tons of thermal treatment capacity and 55,000 annual tons of end finishing capacity for tubing products. The thermal treatment and end finishing facility for casing products will be completed in June 2012. This facility will add 150,000 annual tons of thermal treatment capacity and 110,000 annual tons of end finishing capacity for casing products. The total remaining capital expenditures for the Alabama facilities are $17.8 million.”

Source: Lakeside Steel Inc.