Russel Metals Inc announced first quarter results this week, reporting $43.0 million in net earnings, compared to $49.7 million in the first quarter of 2024 and $26.9 million in Q4 2024. Total revenues in Q1 2025 totaled $1.2 billion, compared to $1.1 billion in the prior year and $1.0 billion in the prior quarter. This improvement reflected the company’s seasonal rebound in business activity, higher steel prices, and a full quarter from both the Tampa Bay and Samuel acquisitions.
In a press release, the company said first quarter 2025 results reflected a seasonal improvement in demand, particularly for their metals service centers and steel distributors segments, and strong sequential increases in gross margin, EBITDA and net earnings. The company invested a record amount in capital expenditures during the quarter, as they continued with their internal investments in value-added equipment and facility modernizations. This involved the completion of a series of prior projects along with the initiation of new projects.
The company said steel prices continued to rise in the first quarter as a result of the tariffs imposed by the US government. The metals service centers segment generated the highest tonnage sales in company history. This record reflected the favorable market conditions, a full quarter contribution from last year's acquisitions and organic market share gains. Metals services centers experienced an increase in selling price per ton of 20.9 percent compared to the 2024 fourth quarter and 21.4 percent compared to the 2024 first quarter. Tons shipped in metals services centers increased 28.6 percent from the same period in 2024 but decreased by 13.9 percent from the 2024 fourth quarter.
As for an outlook, the company said prices appear to have stabilized over the past month, but future steel price changes will be impacted by further changes in US tariffs. Cleveland-Cliffs said their recent shipment levels have benefited from some element of customer buying in anticipation of the imposed tariffs, a strong seasonal recovery, and market share gains. The company expects to benefit from further rebuilding of the U.S. industrial manufacturing base. In addition, the company is positioned to gain market share through their ongoing investments in value-added equipment, facility modernizations, and acquisitions. Cleveland-Cliffs energy field stores are expected to continue to benefit from solid energy activity and to gain market share while maintaining a solid margin profile in 2025.