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Ternium S.A. (TX) reported 4Q EBITDA of $369.6m, beating the Street’s forecast of $346.3m and 4Q 2010 EBITDA of $237m but down 18% sequentially.

Guidance is for operating income to decrease sequentially in 1Q mainly because of higher costs owing to exchange rate changes and higher cost slabs flowing through inventory. Shipments are expected to be stable, with stronger shipments in Mexico in 1Q as North American demand improves offsetting a seasonally slower period in Argentina.

Management noted that it will have more details about the company’s Usiminas investment in March.

Our full report is available to subscribers only and provides further thoughts on Ternium’s 4Q earnings report and conference call as well as the implication for the stock and other equities.

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Tenaris (TS) reported 4Q EBITDA of $709.6m, ahead of the Street’s $690.3m and 3Q’s $620.3m, and up 38% from year-ago.  EBITDA margins improved in 4Q as higher volumes led to greater fixed-cost absorption.

Guidance for 1Q was for lower sales and operating income due to seasonal maintenance outages and lower shipments in the Projects segment, although management expects both sales and operating income for full-year 2012 to rise versus 2012 due to in part to an improved product mix.  The company expects 2012 sales of tubular products for demanding applications to grow faster than for standard products as customers undertake investments in more difficult operating conditions.

Our full report is available to subscribers only and provides further thoughts on Tenaris’ 4Q earnings report and conference call as well as the implication for the stock and other equities.

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L.B. Foster (FSTR) reported adjusted 4Q earnings of $0.62/share, missing the Street’s $0.67/share, as the company’s construction products business saw a sharp drop in 4Q sales.

While the company’s visibility into 2012 is limited for construction markets due to the lack of a new transportation bill, management believes that the non-res construction market has bottomed.  The outlook for the rail segment is brighter due to strong capex spending budgets from North American class 1 railroads in 2012 as well as increased rail traffic.  The company also expects continued growth in its tubular business in 2012.

Our full report is available to subscribers only and provides further thoughts on L.B. Foster’s 4Q earnings report and conference call as well as the implication for the stock and other equities.

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The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims the week of February 18, 2012, totaled 351,000, unchanged from a revised estimate of 351,000 the week of February 11, 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The seasonally adjusted four-week moving average dropped slightly, decreasing by 7,000 from a revised 366,000 to 359,000

Insured Unemployment Figures Also Steady

Looking at seasonally adjusted unemployment figures, the advance seasonally adjusted unemployment rate the week of February 18 was 2.7%, also unchanged from the prior week. Meanwhile, the advance seasonally adjusted total number of insured unemployed people declined about 1%, from 3.44 million to 3.39 million. The four-week moving average also decreased about 1%, from about 3.5 million to 3.45 million.

Actual Claims Fall

The actual (unadjusted) number of initial unemployment claims the week of February 18 was a slightly lower 345,216, a decrease of 19,888 from the previous week’s figure of 365,104. The advance unadjusted unemployment rate the week of January 28, 2012 was 3.1%, up slightly from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.1%.

Fewer Federal Employees, Vets File Initial Claims

A total of 1,383 former federal civilian employees filed initial unemployment claims the week of February 11, a 12% decline from 1,578 the prior week. And in a shift from the trend of the past few weeks, there were 2,520 initial claims from newly discharged veterans, a 10% drop from 2,723 the week before.

California Changes Pace in Initial Claims

California has led all states in the number of initial claims for the past few weeks tracked by the Department of Labor. However, for the week ending February 11, California has the highest number of decreases (-8,462). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending February 11 were in Massachusetts (+853), Puerto Rico (+352), Nebraska ( +345), Hawaii (+ 85), and Rhode Island (+69), while the largest decreases besides California occurred in Pennsylvania (-3,789), New York (-2,429), North Carolina (-2,199), and South Carolina (-1,538).

Source: US Department of Labor