GrafTech Plunges 16% On Lower Quarterly Profit, Outlook

(RTTNews) - Shares of graphite electrode products maker GrafTech International Ltd. (EAF) are down more than 16% Friday morning after reporting lower profit in the fourth quarter. The company also provided grim outlook for the next year.

Profit for the fourth quarter declined to $50.33 million or $0.20 per share from $141.48 million or $0.54 per share in the same quarter a year ago, due to higher costs and low demand.

Excluding one-time items, earnings were $44.76 million or $0.17 per share.

Quarterly sales declined to $247.52 million from $363.29 million last year.

Looking forward, the company said, "As we enter 2023, we anticipate continued soft demand for graphite electrodes due to ongoing economic uncertainty and geopolitical conflict. In addition, we expect the suspension of our operations in Monterrey, Mexico in late 2022 will have a significant impact on our sales volume for the first half of 2023."

EAF, currently at $5.49, has traded in the range of $4.07-$12.03 in the last 1 year.