- Fourth quarter EPS of $0.84
- Record annual gross profit margin of 30.1% for 2016
- Generated full year cash flow from operations of $626.5 million
- Increased quarterly dividend by 6% to $0.45 per share
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16, 2017 -- Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS) today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2016.
Fourth Quarter 2016 Financial Highlights
- Sales were $2.06 billion, up 1.7% from $2.03 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015 and down 5.7% from $2.19 billion in the third quarter of 2016.
- Tons sold were down 1.1% from the fourth quarter of 2015 and down 5.6% from the third quarter of 2016, with the average selling price per ton sold up 2.7% from the fourth quarter of 2015 and down 0.1% from the third quarter of 2016.
- Gross profit margin was 29.8%, compared to 28.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 30.0% in the third quarter of 2016. FIFO gross profit margin was 29.0%, compared to 26.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 29.4% in the third quarter of 2016.
- Net income attributable to Reliance was $61.7 million, compared to $68.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 and $49.5 million in the third quarter of 2016.
- Earnings per diluted share were $0.84, compared to $0.94 in the fourth quarter of 2015 and $0.68 in the third quarter of 2016.
- Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.84, compared to $0.87 in the fourth quarter of 2015 and $1.25 in the third quarter of 2016.
- Reliance recorded a pre-tax LIFO inventory valuation credit adjustment, or income, of $16.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to $42.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 and $11.3 million in the third quarter of 2016, included in cost of sales.
- The effective tax rate was 35.8%, compared to 27.1% in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 28.2% in the third quarter of 2016.
- Cash flow from operations was $238.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 and net debt-to-total capital was 30.3% at December 31, 2016.
- A quarterly cash dividend of $0.45 per share, an increase of 5.9%, was declared on February 14, 2017 for stockholders of record as of March 10, 2017 and will be payable on March 24, 2017.
Full Year 2016 Financial Highlights
- Sales were $8.61 billion, down 7.9% from $9.35 billion in 2015.
- Tons sold were down 1.5% from 2015 and the average selling price per ton sold was down 6.8%.
- Gross profit margin was 30.1%, up 290 basis points from 27.2% in 2015. FIFO gross profit margin was 29.8%, up 380 basis points from 26.0% in 2015.
- Net income attributable to Reliance was $304.3 million, down 2.3% from $311.5 million in 2015.
- Earnings per diluted share were $4.16, consistent with $4.16 in 2015.
- Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $4.48, compared to $4.55 in 2015.
- A pre-tax LIFO inventory valuation credit adjustment, or income, of $27.4 million is included in cost of sales compared to a pre-tax LIFO inventory valuation credit adjustment, or income, of $117.0 million in 2015.
- The effective tax rate was 28.0% for 2016, compared to 31.1% for 2015.
- Cash flow from operations was $626.5 million, compared to $1.0 billion in 2015.
Management Commentary
“Operationally, 2016 was a terrific year for Reliance as our focus on maximizing our gross profit margin resulted in our first ever annual gross profit margin above 30%,” said Gregg Mollins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Reliance. “Although somewhat improved from 2015, the macro environment for our industry continued to be challenging with overall lower demand levels and pricing volatility resulting in a sales decline of $737 million in 2016 compared to 2015, due mostly to lower metal pricing. However, the expansion of our FIFO gross profit margin to 29.8% for the 2016 year, a 380 basis point improvement over 26.0% in 2015, added $328 million more gross profit dollars, generally offsetting the reduction to our pre-tax income from our lower sales levels. We believe our ability to increase our gross profit margin was made possible by the significant investments we have made in our value-added processing equipment to provide our customers with superior service and quality. Our effective pricing strategy and discipline implemented by our managers in the field along with our continued focus on inventory management further contributed to this success.”
Mr. Mollins continued, “The positive metals pricing environment experienced in the second quarter of 2016 lost momentum as we progressed into the second half of the year. However, the environment recovered as multiple price increases were announced by the mills in late 2016 and have continued into 2017. The trade cases filed by U.S. producers on various products throughout the year, along with production capacity discipline and price increases in raw materials, also continue to be supportive of domestic pricing. These factors have led to positive pricing momentum in early 2017. Customer sentiment is also more positive than we have seen in some time, which we believe will materialize into higher metals demand in 2017.”
Mr. Mollins concluded, “2016 was a solid year for Reliance. We could not be more pleased with the strong operational execution throughout our Company that allowed us to thrive, even in challenging times. We continued to profitably grow the Company, both organically and by completing three acquisitions, and ended the year with a strong balance sheet that provides us the ability to continue to execute our growth strategies and stockholder return activities, including an increase of our quarterly dividend. We look forward to 2017, which we believe will feature a renewed enthusiasm for infrastructure and equipment spending, as well as improvement in the energy market, and we believe that Reliance is very well positioned to capitalize on these opportunities.”
| Fourth Quarter 2016 Business Metrics | |||||||||||
| (tons in thousands; percentage change) | |||||||||||
| Q4 2016 | Q3 2016 | Sequential Quarter Change | Q4 2015 | Year-Over- Year Change | |||||||
| Tons sold | 1,365.0 | 1,445.5 | (5.6 | %) | 1,380.3 | (1.1 | %) | ||||
| Tons sold (same-store) | 1,346.1 | 1,426.3 | (5.6 | %) | 1,380.3 | (2.5 | %) | ||||
| Average selling price per ton sold | $ | 1,500 | $ | 1,501 | (0.1 | %) | $ | 1,460 | 2.7 | % | |
| Average selling price per ton sold (same-store) | $ | 1,495 | $ | 1,494 | 0.1 | % | $ | 1,460 | 2.4 | % | |
| Fourth Quarter 2016 Major Commodity Metrics | ||||||||||||||||
| Tons Sold (tons in thousands; percentage change) | Average Selling Price per Ton Sold (percentage change) | |||||||||||||||
| Q4 2016 Tons Sold | Q3 2016 Tons Sold | Sequential Quarter Change | Q4 2015 Tons Sold | Year-Over- Year Change | Sequential Quarter Change | Year-Over- Year Change | ||||||||||
| Carbon steel | 1,096.1 | 1,167.4 | (6.1 | %) | 1,127.9 | (2.8 | %) | (1.4 | %) | 4.8 | % | |||||
| Aluminum | 82.3 | 86.3 | (4.6 | %) | 81.7 | 0.7 | % | (0.1 | %) | (0.2 | %) | |||||
| Stainless steel | 72.5 | 78.0 | (7.1 | %) | 71.8 | 1.0 | % | 0.8 | % | 2.0 | % | |||||
| Alloy | 44.9 | 44.6 | 0.7 | % | 47.8 | (6.1 | %) | 1.9 | % | (1.4 | %) | |||||
| Sales ( | |||||||||||