Steel firm may have set record for quarterly loss

Bethlehem Steel, the nation's second-largest steelmaker, reported that it lost more than $1.1 billion in the last three months of 1982. This is believed to be the highest quarterly loss in US corporate history.

The reaction to the loss was mixed on Wall Street. Some observers of the company said they had expected even worse results for 1982. Bethlehem reported that its ledgers showed a loss for 1982 of $1.469 billion on revenues of $5.26 billion. In 1981, the company showed a profit of $210.9 million on revenues of $ 7.3 billion. The company credited the losses to exceptionally poor consumer demand in every market it serves.