Feb 20 (Reuters) - Italian steel pipe maker Tenaris

has warned that a tariff hike by U.S. President Donald

Trump on steel and aluminum will create a "high level of

uncertainty" for costs and prices in the second half of the

year.

Trump stunned markets by announcing tariffs of 25% on all

steel and aluminum imported into the U.S. from next month,

leaving industries that rely on such supplies scrambling to

offset an expected jump in costs.

"Likely changes in US tariffs and their possible

ramifications on trade flows will introduce a new dynamic with a

high level of uncertainty for costs and prices to our results,"

Luxembourg-based Tenaris said.

It added in a statement late on Wednesday that it expected

its first-quarter revenue and core earnings (excluding

extraordinary items) to be in line with the previous quarter,

before rising moderately in the second quarter of 2025.

Despite the warning by Tenaris, brokerage JPMorgan said it

did not expect implementation of the tariffs to negatively

impact Tenaris' financial results.

"In fact, (it) would likely lead to an increase in U.S. OCTG

(Oil Country Tubular Goods) pricing," it added in a note, saying

the rising prices would offset the higher cost for raw

materials.

Tenaris also named Carlos Gomez Alzaga as its new chief

financial officer, succeeding the retiring Alicia Mondolo

effective May 2.

The exploration pipeline maker reported a 17% drop in net

sales to $2.85 billion for the fourth quarter, although above

its previous guidance due to inventory reductions and advanced

shipments to the Middle East and Turkey.

Its EBITDA margin for the last quarter of 2024 stood at

25.5%, below the 28.6% recorded in the same period the year

before.

Tenaris also proposed an overall dividend per share of $0.83

for 2024, including the interim dividend of $0.27 paid in

November.

(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru and Enrico

Sciacovelli in Gdansk;

Editing by Anil D'Silva and Helen Popper)