Reliance Pleased With Gross Profit Margin

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. is expecting flat up to a 3 percent increase in pricing in third quarter after experiencing pricing pressure in second quarter. Recent price increases in June and July have held, and Reliance expects demand to carry prices higher, whether or not Section 232 action is taken.

“The absence of meaningful price increases and our receipt of higher cost metal during the second quarter of 2017, along with the added elements of a competitive landscape due to continued uncertainty around possible Section 232 action and increased imports in the marketplace, collectively pressured our gross profit margin more than we had anticipated,” said President and CEO Gregg Mollins. Despite pressures, gross profit margin of 28.4 percent drove the second highest quarterly dollar profits ($702.1 million) in the company’s history.