Service Centers

A.M. Castle Reports Third Quarter Loss
Written by Sandy Williams
October 28, 2014
A.M. Castle & Co. reported net sales of $245.5 million for third quarter for a net loss of $7.3 million.
Metals segment sales totaled $210.7 million, down 1.6 percent from the previous quarter and 4.2 percent lower year over year. Pricing dropped 2.5 percent and sales volumes declined 1.4 percent compared to Q3 2013.
“While we did not achieve the top-line growth that we had anticipated during the third quarter, we are encouraged that sales remained relatively constant for the first three quarters of 2014, and we saw sequential improvement in daily revenue and sales volumes during the third quarter,” said Scott Dolan, CEO of A. M. Castle. “Earlier in the third quarter, sales volumes were negatively impacted by branch consolidation execution issues in our plate and oil and gas businesses. Those issues have been remediated.”
“We expect to realize the full benefits of our inventory investment and deployment strategy in 2015,” added Dolan.
A. M. Castle & Co. is a global distributor of specialty metal and plastic products and supply chain services, principally serving the producer durable equipment, oil and gas, commercial aircraft, heavy equipment, industrial goods, construction equipment, retail, marine and automotive sectors of the global economy.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Service Centers

Olympic opens new Houston facility for Action Stainless unit
Olympic Steel has opened a new facility in Houston to support its Action Stainless business.

Worthington Steel sees demand improvement after earnings slump
Lower volumes and steel prices dampened Worthington Steel’s profits, but market momentum is building, the metals processor said in its most recent quarterly earnings report.

Galvanized buyers see strong demand, but uncertainty lingers
Demand is up, but tariffs raise concerns

Olympic taps Zito for new VP of development role
Cleveland-based Olympic Steel Inc. has promoted Scott M. Zito to the newly created role of vice president of business development. Zito has been with the company for more than 40 years.

Worthington Steel and Samuel to close Cleveland coil processing JV
Worthington Steel confirmed it is closing the Worthington Samuel Coil Processing (WSCP) facility in Cleveland. WSCP is a joint venture between Worthington Steel and Oakville, Ontario-based Samuel, Son & Co.