ALJ announces net loss for Q4 2009

Ashland, Kentucky-based ALJ announced a net loss of $153,106 for the fourth quarter of 2009, which is approximately 23 percent less than the net loss of $198,431 reported for the same quarter of 2008. Net sales for Q4 2009, reported at $21 million, also reflect a 52.5 percent decrease from the $40 million in sales reported in Q4 2008..

John Scheel, CEO of ALJ stated that while revenue, shipments and selling prices declined, the company was “working off a very high backlog in late 2008 as the marketplace collapsed so that production was actually 18 percent higher in late 2008 than in 2009. The fact that we achieved similar net income performance in the most recent quarter compared to a year ago when volume, production and selling prices were higher and scrap prices were significantly lower is a testament to our lower cost operating performance. The bottom line is that, while I am no predictor of the future, I do believe that our recent results do bode well for our future.”

ALJ is the parent company of KES Acquisition Company dba Kentucky Electric Steel, the owner and operator of a steel mini-mill near Ashland, Kentucky producing both merchant bar quality flats (MBQ Bar Flats), and special bar quality steel flats (SBQ Bar Flats).