Brazilian long steel maker Gerdau (GGB) reported a second-quarter net loss Thursday as a decline in the value of the company's assets and tax payments added to the pain of the global economic slowdown.

Gerdau reported a second-quarter net loss of 329 million Brazilian reals ($181 million), down from a net profit of BRL2.12 billion in the same quarter a year ago.

Without the non-recurring charges, Gerdau said the company would have posted a second-quarter net profit of BRL467 million.

Gerdau, the largest long steel maker in the western hemisphere, reported net revenue of BRL6.4 billion in the second quarter, down 42% from BRL11.1 billion a year ago.

Gerdau's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, fell 78% to BRL595 million in the quarter, down from BRL2.75 billion in the second quarter of 2008.

-By Jeff Fick, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-21-2586-6085; Jeff.Fick@dowjones.com