US service centre chain Ryerson increased its profits on-year in the first quarter despite a still-challenging market environment, Kallanish learns from the company’s Q1 review.
Ryerson earned $25.3 million during the quarter on sales of $1.15 billion, up from earnings of $16.4m on sales of $1.01 billion in Q1 2020.
Average pricing rose in the same time period by 18.4%, while volumes dropped by 4.1%.
“Despite ongoing risks and challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, Ryerson is harvesting the benefits of its improved operating model while further strengthening its balance sheet with opportunities to accelerate debt reduction in firm sight,” says ceo Eddie Lehner.
The company expects business conditions for distribution to continue to improve in Q2.
“At this point in the second quarter, demand fundamentals have continued to improve while supply-side constraints remain, resulting in price durability in all three of Ryerson’s primary commodities,” the company says, anticipating Q2 revenues of $1.32-1.34 billion.
That revenue growth will be fuelled by a 1-3% growth in shipments and a whopping 12-14% sequential increase in pricing, the company notes.
Dan Hilliard USA
