U.S. Steel shares tank after company misses marks and warns of 'operational volatility'

Shares of U.S. Steel Corp. X, +1.75%fell more than 6% late Thursday after the steel maker swung to a profit in the first quarter but results fell short of expectations. U.S. Steel also said it could continue to experience "operational volatility." The company said it earned $18 million, or 10 cents a share, in the quarter, versus a net loss of $180 million, or $1.

03 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $57 million, or 32 cents a share, versus a loss of $145 million, or 83 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose to $3.15 billion, compared with $2.73 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected GAAP and adjusted earnings of 29 cents a share on sales of $3.16 billion. "We are beginning the second year of our asset revitalization program, and we are already seeing benefits from the investments in our assets. It is prudent for us to anticipate the possibility of continued operational volatility for those assets yet to be revitalized," Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt said in a statement. The company said it is going through "operational challenges" at its steelmaking plant at Great Lakes Works in Michigan, which hit its bottom line by about $30 million in the second quarter. The company guided for second-quarter adjusted adjusted earnings of about $400 million, and full-year 2018 adjusted earnings around $1.7 billion and $1.8 billion. Shares of U.S. Steel ended the regular session up 1.8%.