– Net sales of $3.62 billion with tons sold up 1.1% from Q3 2022
– Gross profit margin of 29.7%
– EPS of $4.99; non-GAAP EPS of $5.00
– Cash flow from operations of $466.0 million
– Repurchased $126.4 million of common stock
– Replenished existing share repurchase program to $1.5 billion

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) today reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Management Commentary

“I’d like to commend the entire Reliance team for successfully executing our strategy during challenging times and delivering another quarter of solid financial performance, which was in line with our expectations,” said Karla Lewis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Reliance. “While our tons sold were down slightly more than anticipated, we outperformed broader service center industry trends and maintained year-over-year growth. Consistent with our expectations, our average selling price per ton sold declined across our major commodity products. However, our pricing discipline, product diversification, small order sizes and industry-leading, value-added processing capabilities continue to provide us with gross profit margin stability that lessens the impact of declining prices on our gross profit margins. As a result, we delivered non-GAAP earnings per share of $5.00, in line with our guidance.”

Mrs. Lewis continued, “Our profitability, combined with effective working capital management, generated strong operating cash flow of $466.0 million for the quarter. We invested $125.5 million in capital expenditures and returned $185.1 million to our stockholders. We will continue to leverage our strong balance sheet and significant liquidity to fund profitable growth and return value to our stockholders through dividends and share repurchases. We are excited about the many growth activities underway and that we anticipate arising under the Infrastructure Bill, the CHIPS Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act as well as onshoring and nearshoring activities in the markets we serve.”

End Market Commentary
Reliance provides a diverse range of metal products and value-added processing services to a wide range of end markets, generally in small quantities on an as-needed basis. The Company’s tons sold in the third quarter of 2023 increased 1.1% year-over-year mainly due to strength in the non-residential construction and aerospace end markets Reliance serves along with contributions from organic growth investments. The Company’s tons sold declined 4.3% compared to the prior quarter, reflecting one less shipping day and typical seasonal patterns, along with reduced demand for carbon steel flat-rolled products as continued price declines resulted in more cautious customer behavior.  

Demand in non-residential construction (including infrastructure), Reliance’s largest end market, improved compared to the third quarter of 2022. The Company remains cautiously optimistic non-residential construction activity in the sectors in which the Company participates will remain healthy in the fourth quarter of 2023 based on current customer sentiment and backlogs, subject to normal seasonality.

Demand in commercial aerospace remained strong in the third quarter of 2023, up from both the second quarter of 2023 and third quarter of 2022. Reliance is optimistic commercial aerospace demand will remain healthy in the fourth quarter of 2023 as actual build rates further increase from current levels. Demand in the military, defense and space portions of Reliance’s aerospace business also remained strong with healthy backlogs, which is expected to continue in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Demand for the toll processing services Reliance provides to the automotive market remained consistent with the second quarter of 2023 and increased compared to the third quarter of 2022. Reliance’s niche toll processing position in the automotive market, including the continued increase in aluminum content, provide the Company with optimism that demand for its toll processing services will improve over the long-term. However, the Company’s outlook for the fourth quarter of 2023 remains cautious given the ongoing UAW strike.

Demand across the broader manufacturing sectors Reliance serves, including industrial machinery, consumer products and heavy equipment, declined from the third quarter of 2022 due in part to the reduction in carbon steel flat rolled tons sold as prices declined as well as lower demand in certain equipment and machinery markets. Reliance anticipates that demand for its products across the broader manufacturing sector will decline in the fourth quarter of 2023 due mostly to seasonality.

Demand in the semiconductor market declined from both the second quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2022 due to continued softness in certain areas of the market primarily due to excess inventory in the supply chain. Reliance’s long-term outlook for the semiconductor market remains positive, reinforced by its investments in additional capacity to service the significant semiconductor fabrication expansion efforts underway in the United States.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow
At September 30, 2023, Reliance had cash and cash equivalents of $976.9 million and total debt outstanding of $1.15 billion with no outstanding borrowings under its $1.5 billion revolving credit facility. Reliance generated cash flow from operations of $466.0 million during the third quarter of 2023 driven by solid profitability and effective working capital management.

Stockholder Return Activity
On October 24, 2023, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.00 per share of common stock, payable on December 1, 2023 to stockholders of record as of November 17, 2023. Reliance has paid regular quarterly cash dividends for 64 consecutive years without reduction or suspension and has increased the dividend 30 times since its 1994 IPO to a current annual rate of $4.00 per share.

In the third quarter of 2023, the Company repurchased 467,213 shares of its common stock at an average cost of $270.49 per share, for a total of $126.4 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, Reliance repurchased 935,891 shares of its common stock at an average cost of $255.56, for a total of $239.2 million. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, as of October 24, 2023, Reliance repurchased 575,060 shares of its common stock at an average cost of $255.15 per share, for a total of $146.7 million. As of October 24, 2023, $294.8 million remained available under Reliance’s $1 billion share repurchase plan authorized on July 26, 2022.

On October 24, 2023, the Board of Directors approved an amendment of Reliance’s share repurchase plan, replenishing the repurchase authorization to $1.5 billion without a set expiration date. From 2018 through September 30, 2023, Reliance has repurchased approximately 16.9 million shares of its common stock at an average cost of $122.20 per share for a total of $2.07 billion.

Corporate Development
On October 11, 2022, Reliance announced the retirement of James D. Hoffman, effective December 31, 2023. In connection with his planned retirement, Mr. Hoffman, the Company’s former President and Chief Executive Officer, has informed the Board that he has decided to retire from service on the Board and will not stand for reelection to the Board at the Company’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Mr. Hoffman will continue to serve as a director of the Company until the expiration of his term at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Mark Kaminski, Chairman of the Board of Reliance, commented, “The Board of Directors thanks Jim for his years of service on the Board as well as his leadership and service to Reliance. Jim’s significant contributions are reflected in the Company’s culture of safety, as well as record revenues, profitability and earnings per share achieved during his tenure. We wish Jim and his family all the best in his retirement.” 

Business Outlook
Reliance anticipates underlying demand will overall remain relatively healthy in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Company expects tons sold growth in the range of 3.5% to 5.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, and, consistent with seasonal trends, a sequential decline of 4% to 6%. Although Reliance believes pricing for many products will be near trough levels in the current cycle at some point in the fourth quarter of 2023, with certain products leveling off or increasing modestly, the Company expects its average selling price per ton sold for the fourth quarter of 2023 to decline 4% to 6% compared to the third quarter of 2023. The Company also anticipates modest temporary downward pressure on its gross profit margin in the fourth quarter as a result of these declining price trends. Based on these expectations, the Company anticipates non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $3.70 to $3.90 for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Conference Call Details
A conference call and simultaneous webcast to discuss Reliance’s third quarter 2023 financial results and business outlook will be held on Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time / 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time. To listen to the live call by telephone, please dial (877) 407-0792 (U.S. and Canada) or (201) 689-8263 (International) approximately 10 minutes prior to the start time and use conference ID: 13741355. The call will also be broadcast live over the Internet hosted on the Investors section of the Company’s website at investor.rsac.com.

For those unable to participate during the live broadcast, a replay of the call will also be available beginning that same day at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 9, 2023, by dialing (844) 512-2921 (U.S. and Canada) or (412) 317-6671 (International) and entering the conference ID: 13741355. The webcast will remain posted on the Investors section of Reliance’s website at www.rsac.com for 90 days.

About Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.
Founded in 1939, Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) is a leading global diversified metal solutions provider and the largest metals service center company in North America. Through a network of approximately 315 locations in 40 states and 12 countries outside of the United States, Reliance provides value-added metals processing services and distributes a full-line of over 100,000 metal products to more than 125,000 customers in a broad range of industries. Reliance focuses on small orders with quick turnaround and value-added processing services. In 2022, Reliance’s average order size was $3,670, approximately 50% of orders included value-added processing and approximately 40% of orders were delivered within 24 hours. Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.’s press releases and additional information are available on the Company’s website at rsac.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain statements that are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, discussions of Reliance’s industry and end markets, business strategies, acquisitions, and expectations concerning the Company’s future growth and profitability and its ability to generate industry leading returns for its stockholders, as well as future demand and metals pricing and the Company’s results of operations, margins, profitability, taxes, liquidity, macroeconomic conditions, including inflation and the possibility of an economic recession or slowdown, litigation matters and capital resources. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “preliminary,” “range,” “intend” and “continue,” the negative of these terms, and similar expressions.

These forward-looking statements are based on management’s estimates, projections and assumptions as of today’s date that may not prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, but not limited to, actions taken by Reliance, as well as developments beyond its control, including, but not limited to, the possibility that the expected benefits of acquisitions may not materialize as expected, the impacts of labor constraints and supply chain disruptions, changes in worldwide and U.S. political and economic conditions such as inflation and the possibility of an economic recession that could materially impact the Company, its customers and suppliers and demand for the Company’s products and services. Deteriorations in economic conditions as a result of inflation, economic recession, slowing growth, outbreaks of infectious disease, conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and the evolving events in Israel and Gaza or otherwise, could lead to a decline in demand for the Company’s products and services and negatively impact its business, and may also impact financial markets and corporate credit markets which could adversely impact the Company’s access to financing, or the terms of any financing. The Company cannot at this time predict all of the impacts of inflation, product price fluctuations, economic recession, outbreaks of infectious disease or the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza conflicts and related economic effects, but these factors, individually or in any combination, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

The statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date that they are made, and Reliance disclaims any and all obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or for any other reason, except as may be required by law. Important risks and uncertainties about Reliance’s business can be found in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and in other documents Reliance files or furnishes with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACT:         
(213) 576-2428
investor@rsac.com

or Addo Investor Relations
(310) 829-5400

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