Worthington profits slide in fiscal second quarter

US service centre chain and fabricator Worthington Industries saw its fiscal 2020 second-quarter earnings fall despite a hefty pre-tax gain related to the sale of its WAVE joint venture, Kallanish reports.

Worthington earned $52.1 million on sales of $827.6m in the quarter ended 30 November, down from earnings of $34m on sales of $958.2m in fiscal Q2 2019. 

Fiscal Q2 2020’s earnings include a pre-tax gain of $23.1m from the sale of its WAVE joint venture with Armstrong World Industries. 

“We delivered solid results for the quarter despite some market softness and challenging conditions in steel pricing,” says ceo John McConnell. “Pressure cylinders volumes were up, led by strong demand in the consumer products and oil and gas businesses. Overall, we returned to year-over-year earnings growth for the quarter and I’m pleased with the way our teams continue to perform in markets that are being impacted by trade wars and economic uncertainty.”