Brazil's Gerdau posts 20 pct drop in fourth-quarter profit

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 4 (Reuters) - Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau SA reported fourth quarter net profit of 393 million reais ($134 million) on Wednesday, beating analyst forecasts.

A poll of analysts had forecast quarterly net profit of 210 million reais. Profit in the quarter fell 20 percent compared with the previous year.

($1 = 2.93 reais) (Reporting by Walter Brandimarte Editing by W Simon)