Reliance Steel & Aluminum Q1 Profit Beats Estimates; Sees Q2 Profit Above View

(RTTNews) - Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS) reported that its first-quarter net income rose to $190.1 million or $2.80 per share from $169.0 million or $2.30 per share in the prior year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $2.37 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales were $2.96 billion, up 7.2% from last year. Analysts expected revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter.

Reliance said it remains optimistic about business conditions in the second quarter of 2019 and expects that both demand and pricing will remain fairly steady, with some downward pressure on gross profit margin in the second quarter of 2019 compared to the first quarter of 2019.

Reliance currently anticipates non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $2.60 to $2.70 for the second quarter of 2019. Analysts project second-quarter earnings of $2.48 per share.