Steel & Tube 1H profit down 33% but upbeat about second half

Steel & Tube 1H profit down 33% but upbeat about second half
Rebecca Howard
By Rebecca Howard Feb. 17 (BusinessDesk) - Steel & Tube Holdings, the NZX-listed steel products distributor, reported a 33 percent drop in first-half profit, hurt by a decline in non-residential construction, but expects things to pick up in the second half.  The company said profit fell to $10.6 million in the six months ended Dec. 31 from $15.9 million in the same period a year earlier.  "This is against a volatile global steel and intensely competitive domestic trading landscape," said chief executive Dave Taylor. He noted that whil...