GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) reported Q1 EPS of $0.48, $0.03 better than the analyst estimate of $0.45. Revenue for the quarter came in at $366.2 million versus the consensus estimate of $375.5 million.
Outlook:
While the near-term operating environment remains dynamic, the overall fundamentals in the steel industry are strong. Given solid steel market capacity utilization rates, particularly in North America, and industry efforts to decarbonize, we believe that demand for graphite electrodes will continue to increase.
We also anticipate the demand for petroleum needle coke, a key raw material used to produce graphite electrodes, will continue to expand rapidly given its use in lithium-ion batteries for the fast-growing electric vehicle market. As such, our ability to deliver high-quality graphite electrodes to our customers, while capitalizing on our low-cost structure and our substantial vertical integration into petroleum needle coke, provides us a sustainable competitive advantage. For these reasons, we believe GrafTech is well-positioned to benefit from these positive industry trends as we progress through 2022 and beyond.