Ryerson Holding Corp., Chicago, reported net income of $18.7 million in 2016, an improvement on the $500,000 loss posted in 2015. Full-year sales totaled $2.9 billion, a 9.7 percent decline from the prior year.
Ryerson’s average selling price decreased 10.0 percent in 2016, leading to the lower revenues. However, the company’s gross margin increased from 17.9 to 20.0 percent. Warehousing, delivery, selling and other expenses declined by $14.4 million, reflecting continued expense management and operational efficiency gains.
"During 2016, Ryerson increased market share, expanded gross margins, reduced costs, reduced interest expense, grew net income and EBITDA, improved working capital efficiency, reduced debt, and strengthened our capital structure, a list worthy of repeating on an annual basis,” Ryerson President and CEO Eddie Lehner told investors and analysts during the company’s quarterly conference call.
In the fourth quarter, Ryerson’s sales increased 2.0 percent to $682.2 million compared with the same period in 2015. Tons shipped per day increased 1.4 percent, while the average selling price increased 2.2 percent. Ryerson posted a fourth-quarter loss of $8.6 million, better than the $20.5 million loss posted during the prior-year quarter.
Ryerson made two transactions in the quarter, acquiring fabricator The Laserflex Corp. in January and stainless and nickel alloy processor Guy Metals in February. "The acquisition of these competitively differentiated companies that offer industry-leading fabrication, polishing, and processing capabilities perfectly aligns with our transformational strategy. These organizations are well matched to our common core of speed, scale, value-add, culture and analytics," said Lehner.