Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Steel Dynamics, Inc. announced late Wednesday Q1 2013 net income of $48 million on net sales of $1.8 billion. By comparison, prior year Q1 net income was $46 million on net sales of $2 billion and sequential Q4 2012 net income was $61 million on net sales of $1.7 billion.
"The first quarter remained challenging from a market perspective, as customer confidence and buying patterns continued to be impacted by global economic uncertainty;" said President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Millett.
"Compared to the fourth quarter, operating income from our steel operations improved four percent to $122 million, as increased long product volumes more than offset weaker sheet steel shipments and somewhat lower overall metal spreads," stated Millett. "An oversupplied northeastern US galvanized sheet market pressured first quarter shipments from The Techs. However, increased shipments of wide flange beams, rail and engineered bar products more than offset the decrease. Despite the slow growth of the commercial construction market, we have seen increased wide flange beam shipments for several consecutive quarters, albeit still very low in relative historical terms, and our fabrication business continues to be profitable."
The company's steel mill utilization rate was 89 percent in Q1, up from 80 percent in Q4 of 2012. There was a shift toward higher valued-added products in the company's steel shipments during Q1 2013, when compared to Q4 2012. The average selling price per ton shipped increased $5 to $789 in Q1, and the average ferrous scrap cost per ton melted increased $8 per ton. Operating income attributable to the company's long product operations increased 16 percent when compared to the sequential quarter, while earnings from sheet operations decreased four percent.