For the quarter ending 28 February, the company recorded net income of US$13.9 million on net sales of US$1.4 billion. In the same quarter last year, the company posted a net income of US$10.2 million on nets sales of US$1 billion.

The company said the quarter presented challenges in the form of declining prices for ferrous and nonferrous scrap and unusually poor weather, which reduced steel shipments.

“While demand from U.S. non-residential and infrastructure construction activity remains strong; during the quarter, construction activity was impacted adversely by rainfall in many markets that far exceeded historical norms, resulting in lower shipment volumes,” the company said.

The company also said it made further headway on its integration of the rebar mills and fabrication facilities it acquired from Gerdau last year.

Speaking during a conference call with analysts, chief executive Barbara Smith said the company expects to invest somewhere between US$200 million and US$250 million in those facilities over the next four to five years.

She declined to discuss details of planned improvements, but described them as smaller projects that are expected to result in solid returns to the facilities. She also noted that the company doesn’t see the need for any major, capital-intensive maintenance projects, such as a rebuild of a critical machine, in that time frame.