July 24 (Reuters) - Swedish steelmaker SSAB (SSABa.ST) , opens new tab posted a bigger than expected drop in its second-quarter operating profit on Wednesday, citing lower U.S. heavy plate prices and a still weak European market, and warned of a steeper demand decline in the third quarter.

"The seasonal downturn during the third quarter is assessed to be more pronounced than normal and will especially impact SSAB Special Steels and SSAB Europe," it said in a statement.

Shipments at its Americas unit will be significantly lower in the third quarter than in the second, SSAB said, and it also expects lower shipments for the Special Steels and Europe units.

The company added it would carry out planned maintenance at most of its production sites in the third quarter, which would impact output.

The steel industry has suffered from reduced construction activity in Europe and a slowdown in the real estate sector in China, the world's top consumer and producer of the metal. In the U.S., interest rate hikes have dented demand.

Its operating result plunged to 2.97 billion Swedish crowns ($275.30 million) in the second quarter, from 4.96 billion a year earlier. That missed analysts' average forecast of 3.02 billion crowns, according to LSEG poll.

SSAB said, however, that the market for high-strength steel showed more resilience in the quarter, while cost reduction measures also had a positive effect on the results.

As expected, its European unit took an additional hit of about 125 million crowns from political strikes in Finland, which had also impacted its first-quarter results.

($1 = 10.7884 Swedish crowns)

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https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/swedish-steelmaker-ssab-misses-q2-profit-forecast-2024-07-24/