Castle Reports Improved Sales in Second Quarter
By
Metal Center News Staff on
Aug 8, 2018
A.M. Castle & Co., Oak Brook, Ill., reported increased sales in the second quarter compared with both the previous quarter and the same quarter in 2018. Castle’s sales of $150.4 million in the quarter were up 3.1 percent from the prior quarter and 10.2 percent compared with the same year in 2017.
The specialty metals distributor reported a net loss of $8.5 million, an improvement on the $22.5 million loss for the second quarter of 2017. Castle posted a loss of $5.1 million in the prior quarter.
“We are very pleased to report that we continued to grow EBITDA and that adjusted EBITDA exceeded cash interest for the second straight quarter. Our quarterly net sales of $150 million were higher compared to both the prior quarter and the second quarter of last year, driven by continued strong volume and higher selling prices,” said President and CEO Steve Scheinkman.
Selling prices improved 4.1 percent compared to the prior quarter, and 12.6 percent compared to the second quarter of last year, as demand remained strong in the company’s core markets. Margins were also beneficially impacted by the elimination of some lower margin sales in the quarter.
Although our second quarter results were negatively impacted by increased transportation and labor costs, which we believe are indicative of growth in our business, we saw continued strong demand and a strong pricing environment throughout the second quarter and into the third quarter,” said Scheinkman.