Steel pricing pressure squeezes Reliance's Q2 earnings

In its Q2’24 earnings results released on Thursday, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based service center group reported a 30% year-on-year (y/y) drop in net income to $268 million on sales that declined just 6% to $3.64 billion.

While carbon steel shipments increased 6% from last year to 1,274,000 short tons, average selling prices dropped 10.5%.

Reliance said the decline in carbon steel pricing was more than anticipated as Q2 progressed. While prices continue to decline, President and CEO Karla Lewis said on a call with analysts on Thursday that “normal to short” lead times on most major products are helping the company work through higher-priced inventory a little faster.

“While we are continuing to execute through near-term headwinds in demand and pricing affecting certain of our markets, we remain excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and are confident in our talented team’s ability to successfully continue executing our robust and resilient business model,” Lewis concluded.

Outlook

Reliance noted y/y demand improvement from its largest end market, non-residential construction, and expects steady demand to continue through Q3. However, steel products going to that sector – carbon steel tubing, plate, and structural – will continue to see pricing pressure, said EVP and COO Steve Koch on Thursday’s call.

Lower carbon steel prices will be the primary driver of an expected 2% to 4% reduction in Reliance’s average Q3 selling prices.

Commenting on the company’s pricing outlook, Lewis said that “it does, for the most part, reflect where prices are currently, not anticipating significant declines from where we are today.”

Total tonnages sold in Q3 are expected to decline 2.5% to 4.5% sequentially due to normal seasonal factors, including planned customer shutdowns and vacations.

With most of the end markets Reliance serves showing demand improvement from last year, the y/y growth in Q3 tons sold should be 4.5% to 6.5%, the company said.