"Continued strength across our markets, particularly in construction activity in both the United States and Poland, contributed to very strong volumes shipped this quarter and our best quarterly adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations over the past couple of years,” Commercial Metals chairman and chief executive Joe Alvarado said in a statement. 

 “Additionally, our tireless focus on what we control, including minimizing our costs and providing market-leading customer service, helped offset some of the significant metal margin compression we faced and allowed us to deliver these solid financial results."

For the quarter ending 31 May, Commercial Metals net earnings rose 51% from US$19.3 million in the same quarter last year. It recorded US$1.4 billion in sales, up from US$1.2 billion last year. 

The results included the addition of seven southeastern U.S. scrap yards the company acquired from Steel Dynamics Inc. subsidiary OmniSource earlier this year. 

During a conference call to discuss the results with analysts, president and chief operating officer Barbara Smith said the company plan to start cold commissioning of its new rebar mill in Durant, Okla., in late July or early August, with an eye to carrying out fill commissioning late in the calendar year.