Bethlehem Steel Reports Net Loss

Bethlehem Steel Corp. on Wednesday reported a net loss of $76.8 million for its third quarter and said that it expected further losses in its next quarter.

In addition, the board of governors for the nation’s second-largest steelmaker voted to omit a quarterly dividend on common stock for the first time since 1938.

Declining steel prices and flat demand caused the third-quarter loss, Bethlehem spokesman Gary Graham said. A year earlier, the steelmaker reported a $17.4-million loss.

The loss for the quarter ended Sept. 30 included a charge of $35 million from the planned shutdown of the remaining Bethlehem industrial fastener operations in Lebanon, Pa., he said.

Bethlehem reported revenue of $1.29 billion for the third quarter, down from $1.36 billion for the same quarter last year.

For the first nine months of the year, Bethlehem reported a net loss of $118.5 million on revenue of $3.83 billion. That compared to a loss of $48 million on revenue of $4.2 billion for the same period in 1984.

Bethlehem had been paying quarterly dividends of 10 cents per share on common stock. The next dividend would have been payable Dec. 10.

“In accordance with previously announced policies, future common stock dividends will be determined by the board of directors on the basis of attained results in the business outlook,” Graham said.

The company’s basic steel operations segment had operating losses of $13 million for the third quarter of 1985, compared to losses of $13 million for the third quarter of 1984, Graham said.