Gerdau Ameristeel Earnings up
Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation (GAC), the top long products steel producer in North America after Nucor, reported a first quarter 2005 year-on-year earnings increase of 266%. GACs reported first quarter net income was $78.6 million on net sales of $1.0 billion. Comparatively, during the same period in 2004 the company posted net income of $21.5 million on net sales of $619.0 million GACs earnings received a significant boost from its acquisition of four long steel product mini-mills and four downstream facilities from Cargill, Inc. GAC reportedly shipped 1.6 million tons of finished steel during the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 19%.