Horsehead Holding Corp Misses EPS Estimates; Posts Solid Revs (ZINC)

Horsehead Holding Corp. (ZINC) reports Q3 earnings loss of $0.05 versus consensus of $0.03 loss. Horsehead Holding Corp. reports revenues of $90.5 million versus consensus of $69.21 million. Zinc product shipments increased 4,135 tons, or 13.5%, to 34,703 tons for the quarter. Net sales increased 50.1% year over year. "Demand for our products and services remained strong and the commodity price of nickel and zinc strengthened during the quarter. EAF dust receipts for the quarter were off slightly from the first half of the year as output from the steel industry softened," said Jim Hensler, President and Chief Executive Officer. Hensler added, "The level of our EAF dust receipts continues to be paced by the output from the steel industry. Steel industry capacity utilization has been operating in the 67 to 70 percent range during the past four weeks which is below the third quarter average of approximately 71%. We expect to operate our recycling facilities near full capacity during the fourth quarter as we reduce the backlog of dust at our facilities. We are also pleased with the performance of INMETCO during the third quarter. Phase I of our expansion plan is underway at INMETCO, which should yield a 15% increase in capacity. We recently received final approval by environmental authorities on certain aspects of this project and expect implementation early in 2011." Shares of ZINC are lower in the after-hours by 0.62%.