Service Centers

Ryerson back in black in fourth quarter

February 22, 2024

Ryerson Holding Corp.

Fourth quarter ended Dec. 31	2023	2022	% Change
Revenue	$1,112.4	$1,288.2	-14%
Net earnings (loss)	$25.8	($24.1)	207%
Per diluted share	$0.74	($0.65)	214%
Twelve months ended Dec. 31
Revenue	$5,108.7	$6,323.6	-19%
Net earnings (loss)	$145.7	$391.0	-63%
Per diluted share	$4.10	$10.21	-60%

(in millions of dollars except per share)

Ryerson swung to a net profit in the fourth quarter, though revenue declined from the same period last year.

The Chicago-based service center group posted net income attributable to Ryerson of $25.8 million in Q4’23 vs. a loss of $24.1 million a year earlier on revenue that slipped 13.6% to $1.11 billion.

“Revenue during the period was influenced by seasonally lower volumes and easing average selling prices, which decreased 5.9% to 450,000 tons and 5.2% to $2,472 per ton, respectively, compared to the third quarter of 2023,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

A breakdown of shipments and average selling prices is shown below.

Tons shipped (in thousands)	Q4’23	Q3’23	Q4’22	Q/q change	Y/y change
Carbon steel	347	371	365	-7%	-5%
Aluminum	48	49	45	-2%	7%
Stainless steel	52	55	52	-6%	0%
Average selling prices (per short ton)
Carbon steel	$1,657	$1,744	$1,874	-5%	-112%
Aluminum	$5,021	$5,571	$5,978	-10	-16%
Stainless steel	$5,212	$5,527	$6,019	-6%	-13%

Eddie Lehner, Ryerson’s president and CEO, said, “Fourth-quarter volumes decreased across most of our end-markets due to holiday seasonality and ongoing destocking across nonferrous product lines.”

He added that for full-year 2023, “our end-market volumes mainly increased in our commercial ground transportation and oil and gas end-markets, while decreasing across most other industrial and consumer end-markets.”

Looking to Q1’24, Ryerson said it “expects normal seasonal demand conditions, with customer shipments expected to increase approximately 8% to 10%, quarter over quarter.”

The company said it anticipates Q1 revenue to be “in the range of $1.21 to $1.25 billion, with average selling prices increasing 1-3%.”

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.