Quay shareholders approved a subscription agreement at the Annual General Meeting on the 26th November 2010 with Clever Talent, which was to be completed 10 days after approval.

Quay said Clever Talent has failed to complete the subscription on the due date.

Quay added it is dependent on these funds in order to continue operations and it is uncertain when or if those funds will become available.

The result delivers reported Earnings per Share of 52.7 cents per share (up from 15.7 cents per share in the corresponding period last year).

Managing Director and CEO, Mr Paul O’Malley, said: “This excellent first half result was driven predominantly by improved spread and the weaker Australian dollar in the first quarter which delivered an underlying Q1 NPAT of approximately $430M.

“However, in the second quarter of the reporting period, export sales from Australia were materially curtailed by the economic downturn around the world and the substantially lower demand for steel globally and in Australia. We are also seeing lower international steel prices while still experiencing peak raw material costs.”

Outlook

Turning to the current outlook, Mr O’Malley said: “The outlook for the second half of FY09 is now weaker than anticipated. We had factored in lost production due to the scheduled Blast Furnace No 5 reline. However, should lower demand and prices, coupled with high raw material prices, continue we expect to see a negative underlying NPAT contribution for 2H FY2009, the extent of which is dependent upon demand and spread.

“Government stimulus packages may translate into some improvement in economic activity later this calendar year, but it remains to be seen how it will affect steel demand.  “We are focused on four key areas: a robust balance sheet; strong liquidity position; disciplined capital expenditure management and delivering an expected $150 million savings on existing and new cost management programs.

“BlueScope Steel aims to emerge from the downturn with our position as a low cost, high quality steel manufacturer intact.”

Interim Dividend

The Board declared an interim dividend of 5 cents per share. The Board’s decision to reduce the interim dividend from 22cps (1H FY2008) to 5cps (1H FY2009), reflects the unforeseen changes in demand and price now contributing to an expected downturn in financial performance in the second half, and uncertainty as to the duration of the global economic downturn.