Metals

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has reported third-quarter 2018 net sales of $3.2 billion and net income of $398 million, or $1.69 share. The electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker says the quarterly results include charges of nearly $13 million associated with purchasing Heartland Steel’s rolling operation.

The figures represent a 33.3 percent increase over net sales of $2.4 billion in the third quarter of 2017 and a 160.1 percent increase of that quarter’s net income of $153 million. Year to date for the nine months ended Sept. 30, SDI’s net income was $988 million and its net sales were $8.9 billion. Those numbers represent a 94.5 percent increase from 2017’s first three quarters’ $508 million in net income and a 23.6 percent increase from 2017’s first three quarters’ sales of $7.2 billion.

SDI President and CEO Mark D. Millett says results for the third quarter of 2018 include “income from operations of $532 million and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $626 million, [which] were both record highs for the company.” He adds, “Our strong financial performance was the result of record steel shipments, average steel selling price improvement and resulting metal spread expansion across our steel operations.”

SDI’s OmniSource scrap operations contributed narrower profits, Millett says. “Earnings from our metals recycling platform declined in the quarter primarily as a result of our nonferrous operations, as shipments and commodity prices declined. In addition, China’s decision to ban certain grades of recycled material has had a negative impact on nonferrous sales volume.”

Regarding the near-term future, Millett says, “We remain confident that macroeconomic and market conditions are in place to benefit domestic steel consumption in 2019. Based on strong domestic steel demand fundamentals and customer optimism, we believe steel consumption will continue to be strong. In combination with our expansion initiatives, we believe there are firm drivers for our continued growth.”

Orange, California-based SA Recycling LLC has announced the purchase of two scrap yards in the southeastern United States from St. Louis-based Alter Trading Corp. The two facilities include an auto shredding yard in Mobile, Alabama, and another yard in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

“SA’s commitment to customer service and employee well-being will allow an orderly transition and little disruption to customers, employees and consumers during the transition,” SA Recycling states in its news release announcing the transaction.

The company adds that “the sale will allow SA to leverage its regional strength in the South, benefit from Alter’s strong consumer relationship and [allow] Alter to focus on more core operational regions of its business.”

Alter will retain a presence in the Southeast with its recent purchase of the former Tenenbaum Recycling Group (TRG) in August. Alter acquired all 10 former TRG locations, most of them in Arkansas.

SA Recycling has more than 70 locations, with a major presence in the southwestern United States (including California), but also with facilities in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and now Mississippi. The company purchased East Point, Georgia-based Newell Recycling Southeast in 2016.