Olympic Steel Looking Forward to Stronger Second Quarter

Olympic Steel reported a 19 percent increase in its first-quarter sales, netting $446 million, thanks in part to its January acquisition of manufacturer McCullough Industries. Net income for the quarter totaled $2.1 million, down from 7.6 million in the same quarter of 2018.

Returns from Olympic’s manufacturing segment are considerably higher than service center margins, noted Olympic President David Wolfort. Olympic supplies raw materials to McCullough from its Cleveland facility, while utilizing Olympic’s own truck fleet, which enhances the acquisition’s profitability. Olympic expects to add other manufacturing companies to its portfolio as opportunities arise.