A.M. Castle 2Q sales up 18 percent

OAK BROOK — A. M. Castle & Co. reported its consolidated net sales increased 17.7 percent for the second quarter, which ended June 30.

Consolidated net sales were $282.6 million for the three-months ended June 30, an increase of 17.7 percent compared to $240.1 million in the second quarter of 2010. The company’s net income for the period was $3.7 million, compared to $0.4 million in the prior year quarter. Second quarter results included a charge of $800,000 for expected export penalties associated with shipments that occurred from 2005 to 2008.

Sales in the company’s metals segment were $252.3 million, $39.0 million or 18.3 percent higher than last year. Metals segment tons sold per day were up 18.1 percent from the second quarter of 2010 and up 3.9 percent compared to the first quarter of 2011.

In the plastics segment, second quarter 2011 sales of $30.3 million were $3.5 million, 13.1 percent higher than the prior year, reflecting improved demand across virtually all markets, most notably automotive, life sciences and retail point-of-purchase display sectors.

Consolidated net sales were $555.4 million, an increase of 19.9 percent compared to $463.1 million last year. Net income for the first half of 2011 was $6.4 million, as compared to a net loss of $4.2 million for the same period last year.

“We experienced strong sales volume in the second quarter, reflecting continued improvement in demand within several key end-use markets including oil and gas, mining and heavy equipment, general industrial markets and automotive.” said Michael Goldberg, president and CEO of A. M. Castle. “We believe that our value-added strategies resonate with our customers and our strong top-line sales growth is indicative of the value our customers place on the solutions and services that we provide,

“We have been working to build inventory levels while maintaining turnover rates in order to support the sales growth that we are experiencing in our end markets, particularly oil and gas and energy, heavy equipment and the general industrial market,” he added.

A. M. Castle & Co. is a global distributor of specialty metal and plastic products and supply chain services, principally serving the producer durable equipment, oil and gas, commercial aircraft, heavy equipment, industrial goods, construction equipment, retail, marine and automotive sectors.