Cleveland, Ohio-based Olympic Steel, Inc. a national metals service center company, announced Thursday its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012. Q2 income of $4.5 million fell from $7.9 million in last year's Q2. Income for the first six months of 2012 totaled $10.8 million, compared to net income of $18.3 million in last year's first half.
Despite lower overall net earnings, net sales in Q2 increased 22.9 percent to $367.4 million compared to $299 million in Q2 2012. Net sales for the first half of 2012 totaled $749.4 million, a 26.3 percent increase from the $593.4 million for the first six months of 2011.
Commenting on the results, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael D. Siegal stated, "Earnings were impacted by degradation of pricing in both carbon and nickel products, and costs associated with startups not yet fully operational. We are focused on increasing cash flows and reducing debt, and look to the future contributions of our 2012 startup locations in Gary, Indiana; Mount Sterling, Kentucky; Monterrey, Mexico; Kansas City, Missouri; and Streetsboro, Ohio. Our capital spending on these projects concludes in 2012, and we then expect future annual capital spending levels to be below depreciation levels."