Efficiencies help A.M. Castle's 3Q results

OAK BROOK — Manufacturer A. M. Castle & Co. said belt tightening throughout the company helped it maintain good third quarter results amid a softening market.

Net sales in the third quarter 2016 were $124.9 million, a decrease of $25.7 million, or 17.1 percent, compared to the third quarter 2015. The decrease in net sales was mainly attributable to a 9.6 percent decrease in tons sold per day compared to the same period last year, coupled with a 4.4 percent decrease in average selling prices

However, a number of initiatives from reducing operating expenses to selling off its equity ownership of Kreher Steel Company helped lessen the impact of the negative sales.

“While our sales tons per day decreased by 6 percent compared to the previous quarter, our financial performance improved as we were able to increase our gross margins to align with Castle's traditional margins in more stable markets even in this historically low commodity price environment,” said President and CEO Steve Scheinkman.

He said the company expects volumes to decrease in the fourth quarter due to normal holiday and year-end seasonality, and as a result it will stay focused on improving operational efficiencies.

“We expect these synergies to help us leverage profitability on new contracts and allow us to increase our transactional business at accretive net margins,” he said.