Shares in Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. plummeted more than 5 percent Thursday after the company reported a 22 percent jump in profit but sharply lowered its third quarter guidance.

Reliance reported second quarter net income of $123 million ($1.59 per share), up 22 percent from $101 million ($1.32) from the same period a year earlier. The company cited a big sales boost, solid steel prices and strong demand for the increase.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of $1.57 per share for the Los Angeles-based steel and metal products distributor.

The bad news came when the company forecast third-quarter earnings of $1.30 to $1.35 a share, far below analysts’ expectations of $1.52 per share. Reliance said it expects demand and pricing in the third quarter to soften as part of “the normal seasonal summer slowdown.”

Shares in Reliance shares fell $3.17, or 5.3 percent, to $57.80 in afternoon trading on the New York stock Exchange.