Commercial Metals Company today announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended August 31, 2022. Net earnings were $288.6 million, or $2.40 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.4 billion, compared to prior year period net earnings of $152.3 million, or $1.24 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.0 billion.
In a press release, the company said that demand for CMC's finished steel products in North America was again robust during the quarter, with several key internal and external indicators pointing toward continued strength. Downstream bid volumes, a significant indicator of the construction project pipeline, increased meaningfully from a year ago, resulting in year-over-year expansion of contract backlog levels, CMC said, adding that demand from industrial end markets was stable, with conditions in most end-use applications unchanged from the sequential quarter, but improved compared to the prior year period.
CMC said shipment volumes of finished steel, which include steel products and downstream products, followed typical seasonal patterns and were down slightly from the prior year period, due largely to destocking activities by customers as well as the slower pace of construction on numerous job sites stemming from staffing challenges.
The average selling price for steel products increased by $204 per ton compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 while the cost of scrap utilized declined $47 per ton, resulting in a year-over-year increase of $251 per ton in steel product margin over scrap. Average pricing declined by $6 per ton from the previous quarter. The average selling price for downstream products increased by $334 per ton from the prior year period and $104 per ton on a sequential basis.
As for an outlook, Barbara R. Smith, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Looking ahead, we anticipate strong financial performance in the first fiscal quarter. Robust demand in North America for each of CMC's major product lines is expected to persist Finished steel volumes are expected to follow typical seasonal patterns, which have historically declined modestly from our fourth quarter levels. Margins over scrap in both North America and Europe are likely to compress from fourth quarter levels in order to remain competitive with raw material price changes and increased long steel supply from imports."