Encore Wire Corp. (NASDAQ Global Select: WIRE), McKinney, TX, reported sales for the fourth quarter were $177.1 million, down 1.7% from the prior year period. The manufacturer of copper electrical wire recorded a $1.9 million loss in the period, compared with profit of $16.7 million in fourth quarter 2008.

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Sales for 2009 were $649.6 million, down 39.9% from 2008. Profit was $3.9 million, compared to $39.8 million a year ago.

\”The slowdown in construction activity in the United States continues to impact our industry adversely as it has over the last three plus years,\” said Daniel L. Jones, president and CEO. \”Unit volume decreases caused by the slowdown in construction have created a volatile pricing environment in our industry that compressed the spread between what we paid for a pound of copper versus what we were able to charge for wire that contained a pound of copper. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the spread fell by 48.2% versus the fourth quarter of 2008 and it fell 27.1% for the full year of 2009 versus 2008.\”