US-based steelmaker, Metallus, has shared its financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year of 2024.
The company reported fourth quarter net sales of $240.5 million and net loss of $21.4 million, or a loss of $0.50 per diluted share. In the same quarter in 2023, net sales were $328.1 million and net income was $1.3 million, or $0.03 per diluted share.
Net income for the full-year of 2024 was $1.3 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, and net sales were $1.1 billion. For the full-year of 2023, net income was $69.4 million, or $1.47 per diluted share.
The company’s shipments for the fourth quarter of 2024 totaled 130,200 mt, increasing by 10,300 mt sequentially, or 9 percent month to month, driven by higher aerospace and defense, energy, and automotive shipments, partially offset by lower industrial shipments. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, shipments decreased 17 percent as a result of lower shipments across all end markets.
Shipments for the full-year of 2024 were 555,550 net tons, a decrease of 19 percent from 2023 on lower shipments in all end markets except aerospace and defense.
Mike Williams, president and CEO of the company, said, “During 2024, we continued to invest in our assets aimed at improving safety, quality and efficiency while also returning capital to shareholders. In addition, we maintained robust training and development opportunities for our employees. Weak demand across the majority of our end markets drove lower shipments and melt utilization during 2024, resulting in disappointing financial performance for the year. Despite challenging market conditions, we focused on what we could control with an emphasis on nurturing our valued partnerships with our customers and suppliers.”
Looking forward, Metallus expects first quarter shipments of 2025 to increase from the fourth quarter of 2024 as the order book begins to strengthen. Lead times for both bar and tube products currently extend to May and surcharge revenue per ton is expected to be sequentially higher in the first quarter primarily driven by higher scrap prices. Operationally, the company expects the average melt utilization rate to be approximately 70 percent in the first quarter driven by improvement in the order book. Also, the company expects manufacturing costs to sequentially improve in the first quarter following the completion of planned annual shutdown maintenance in the fourth quarter and expected higher first quarter melt utilization, resulting in improved cost absorption.