Service Center News

A.M. Castle & Co., Oak Brook, Ill., reported a loss of $12.5 million in its fourth quarter, the first full quarter since the company’s reorganization in the second half of 2017. The quarterly loss included $6.2 million of interest expense.

Net sales totaled $123.2 million, which was an 8.3 percent increase compared to the predecessor company. Year-over-year volumes increased 12 percent.

"We are pleased with the strength of our sales volume in the first full quarter after our emergence from bankruptcy last August. In the quarter, we started to see positive indications that our business is growing from a volume standpoint, and we are carrying that volume momentum into 2018,” said President and CEO Steve Scheinkman.

"With the completion of our reorganization, our capital structure has improved, and our cash interest burden has been significantly reduced. Future cash flows will now be used to grow the business rather than to support an onerous capital structure, as was the case in the recent past,” said Executive Vice President and CFO Pat Anderson.

"Based on the recent positive market indications we are seeing, combined with the overall favorable demand sentiment and a strong pricing environment, we remain confident as the organization enters 2018. Based on our shipments since the beginning of this year, we are expecting year-over-year first-quarter volume growth of 7.4 percent and double-digit sequential quarterly volume growth. We have reduced a significant amount of our excess, slow moving inventory burden, are increasing inventory turns, and, as a result, are seeing improvements in gross material margin,” Scheinkman said.