Falling prices and lower demand hit Olympic Steel’s Q3 earnings

Olympic Steel remained profitable in the third quarter despite strong economic headwinds and pricing pressure across the steel industry.

In its quarterly earnings report released on Thursday, the Cleveland-based national service center reported Q3’24 net income of $2.7 million, down from $12.2 million a year earlier, on sales that tumbled 11% to $470 million.

Political and economic uncertainty, lower demand from OEM customers, and “industry-wide pricing pressure” permeated throughout the challenging quarter, according to CEO Richard Marabito.

These headwinds are expected to continue, he said on a conference call Friday to discuss the earnings results. However, he noted that the industry and economy should gain some clarity following the outcome of Tuesday’s elections.

“Despite these headwinds, we have remained profitable through our diversification into counter-cyclical steel-intensive end products, focusing on higher-margin opportunities such as flat-rolled coated products, and expansion of our fabrication capabilities,” Marabito commented.

Noting the company’s financial flexibility and its focus on organic and inorganic growth, he expressed optimism about the long-term outlook for Olympic Steel, despite the near-term market challenges.

Moreover, Marabito mentioned on the call that Olympic has made six acquisitions in the last five years and continues to actively pursue M&A opportunities that fit their “strike zone.” That zone includes counter-cyclical end-users, higher-margin fabrication businesses, and service centers with well-run operations and strong management teams.

“My line internally is, if we don’t find an acquisition in our strike zone each year, I’d be disappointed,” he said.

He added that, “It’s been about a year” now since its last buy, Arkansas-based Central Tube & Bar (CTB). They’ve been pleased with CTB’s contributions to the company since acquiring it in October 2023, said Olympic President and COO Andrew Greiff, as a big part of what CTB does is fabrication for OEMs, including data centers.