Service Centers

Ryerson logs Q1 loss, but more stability seen in sheet

April 30, 2024

Ryerson Holding Corp.

First quarter ended March 31	2024	2023	% Change
Net sales	$1,239.2	$1,406.1	-11.9%
Net income (loss)	($7.6)	$47.3	-116.1%
Per diluted share	($0.22)	$1.27	-117.3%

(in millions of dollars except per share)

Ryerson swung to a loss in the first quarter of 2024, but the company’s chief executive sees less volatility in the sheet steel market.

The Chicago-based service center group posted a net loss of $7.6 million in Q1’24 vs. net income of $47.3 million a year earlier on net sales that slid 11.9% to $1.24 billion.

“As we move through the second quarter of the year, I am encouraged by stabilization in the carbon sheet market, improvements in bright metal commodity price indices, and incrementally better quoting and order activity across our network of industrial metal service centers,” Eddie Lehner, Ryerson’s president and CEO, said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

The company shipped 385,000 tons of carbon steel in the first quarter, up 11% sequentially, but down 4.2% from a year earlier.

Lehner cited two milestones as the company kicks off the third year of its growth and modernization investment cycle: “The start of operations at our University Park, Ill., service center and the completion of the final stage of our ERP (enterprise resource planning) system unification program across 31 service centers from 2022 through the first quarter of 2024,” he said.

“These investments are notable keystones in creating Ryerson’s next generation operating model… as we move from counter-cyclical business conditions that we have experienced since the second half of 2022 to the next industry upturn whose exact timing, while unknown, will eventually arrive,” Lehner added.

Looking to Q2’24, the company anticipates customer shipments to increase 1-3% quarter over quarter. Additionally, Ryerson expects second-quarter net sales to be in the range of $1.25 billion to $1.29 billion, with average selling prices increasing 0-1%, and earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.15-0.25.

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.