Reliance Steel Reports Better-Than-Expected Profit

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Shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.’s rose 5 percent on Thursday after the operator of metals fabricating centers reported a 16 percent increase in third-quarter net income.

The Los Angeles company reported net income of $98.1 million ($1.30 a share), compared with $84.9 million ($1.13) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell 4 percent to $2.06 billion.

The Wall Street consensus was for earnings of $1.20 a share on revenue of $2.09 billion, according to FactSet.

Results were boosted by an inventory-related credit of $27 million, compared with a year-ago inventory charge of $22.5 million. But total revenue was hurt by lower prices for its products, even though on a tonnage basis the company sold 2 percent more products, in part due to new business from acquisitions.

“While we expected economic uncertainty to continue as we entered the third quarter, price decreases in the quarter were greater than expected for all of our products,” Chief Executive David Hannah said in a statement.

Looking ahead, Reliance Steel expects to report fourth-quarter profit of 90 cents to $1 a share, below the Wall Street average of $1.08.

Shares closed up $2.66, or 5 percent, to $54.77 on the New York Stock Exchange.

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