Aided by tariffs, U.S. Steel reports its profits are soaring

The Trump administration’s tariffs have helped to push up the price of flat-rolled steel by 18 percent over the year, boosting profits for U.S. Steel during the third quarter.

U.S. Steel on Thursday reported earnings of $291 million, or $1.62 a share, for the threemonth period ending Sept. 30. That’s an increase from $147 million, or 83 cents a share, during the third quarter of 2017.

The Pittsburgh steelmaker said its adjusted earnings — removing certain one-time charges — amounted to $321 million, which beat the $317 million expected by Wall Street analysts surveyed by Bloomberg Intelligence. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.79 beat expectationsby 7 cents.

The earnings beat is likely to ease some investor concerns over U.S. Steel’s decision to pour its large pool of cash into some of its aging steel plants — a move that some analysts have criticized. Despite the booming domestic steel market helped because U.S. tariffs made steel imports more expensive, the company’s stock is down about 29 percent in 2018.

Ahead of the earnings release on Thursday, U.S. Steel’s stock was up 2.5 percent by the closing bell.

The third-quarter report showed higher steel prices contributed to revenues of $3.8 billion for the quarter, up from $3.2 billion in the previous year’s quarter. The average price for flatrolled steel rose to $859 a ton, up from $728 a ton during the third quarter of 2017, the company said.

The company recently reached a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers union. The contract must still be approved by workers, but the deal reduces concerns of a potential strike.