Olympic Steel posts fourth-quarter loss

Cleveland, Ohio-based Olympic Steel Inc. Thursday reported a net loss of $2.6 million for Q4 2009, compared to a profit of $776,000 in the same quarter of 2008. Lower shipments were attributed to the 45 percent decline in sales, at $138.5 million.

Olympic Steel CEO Michael Siegal said, “Sales and margins are expected to improve, as steel prices have continued to increase since late fourth quarter of 2009. We expect to profitably grow our market share in 2010.”