May 8, 2006 — Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. reported net income of $87.4 million on net sales of $1.1 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2006.

The $87.4 million net income ($0.29 per share fully diluted) compares to net income of $78.6 million ($0.26 per share fully diluted) for the three months ended March 31, 2005. Net sales of $1.1 billion compares to net sales of $1.0 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2005. EBITDA was $171.2 million, which compares to EBITDA of $151.5 million for the first quarter of last year.

Selling and administrative expenses included a $25.5 million non-cash pretax expense to mark to market outstanding stock appreciation rights and for expenses associated with other executive compensation agreements, which compares to an $0.8 million non-cash pretax expense reversal for the quarter ended March 31, 2005. A gain of $4.6 million was also realized during the first quarter of 2006 related to the sale of land and building.

During the quarter, Gerdau Ameristeel completed two acquisitions. On February 10, the company completed its acquisition of Fargo Iron and Metal Co., a scrap processor with approximately 50,000 tons of scrap-generating capacity, and on March 10, the company completed its acquisition of the rebar fabricating assets of Callaway Building Products, Inc. with approximately 10,000 tons per year of capacity.

The company also recently announced that its U.S. operating subsidiary, Gerdau Ameristeel US Inc., entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Sheffield Steel Corp. Sheffield Steel is a mini-mill producer of long steel products, primarily rebar and merchant bars with annual shipments of approximately 550,000 tons of finished steel products. Sheffield operates a melt shop and rolling mill in Sand Springs, Okla., a smaller rolling mill in Joliet, Ill., and three downstream steel fabricating facilities in Kansas City and Sand Springs. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2006.

Excluding joint ventures, the company shipped 1.6 million tons of finished steel in the first quarter, an increase of 2.5% over the first quarter of 2005. Average mill prices increased $19 per ton (3.6%) compared to the first quarter in 2005. Scrap raw material costs decreased $10 per ton (5.0%) compared to the first quarter of 2005. Metal spread, the difference between mill selling prices and scrap raw material cost, increased $29 per ton (8.4%) compared to the first quarter of last year. Mill manufacturing costs were $245 per ton, which compares to $238 per ton in the first quarter of 2005, primarily as a result of higher energy costs, increased raw material prices other than scrap, and the stronger Canadian dollar. Fabricated steel prices increased $28 per ton compared to the first quarter of the prior year.

For the first quarter, Gerdau Ameristeel's consolidated operating income was $115.7 million and the operating income of the joint ventures was $29.4 million. Based on 1.8 million tons of finished steel shipped, the composite operating income was $79 per ton. For the three months ended March 31, 2005, Gerdau Ameristeel's consolidated operating income was $94.5 million and the operating income of the joint ventures was $31.5 million. Based on 1.8 million tons of finished steel shipped, the composite operating income was $71 per ton for the first quarter of 2005.

CEO Comments—Mario Longhi, President and CEO of Gerdau Ameristeel, commented: "Recognizing that we work in a cyclical and changing sector with limited forward visibility, we are very pleased with the continued strength of the North American steel sector and the favorable market conditions and environment. This represents an excellent window of opportunity to achieve satisfactory returns and payback on our significant acquisition expenditures over the 2002 through 2004 timeframe. Our focus in the June quarter is to integrate the people and assets of Sheffield Steel into our culture and business philosophy, as well as continuing to improve the productivity and cost efficiency of our operations. We remain cautiously optimistic for the remainder of 2006 with shipments, prices and metal spreads continuing firm. With safety at the forefront, we endeavor to maintain an exceptional human resource base, an unparalleled operating and technical knowledge platform, and a strong balance sheet with the flexibility to benefit from a wide range of potential economic scenarios."

Gerdau Ameristeel is the second-largest minimill steel producer in North America with annual manufacturing capacity of over 8.4 million tons of mill finished steel products. Through its vertically integrated network of 15 minimills (including one 50%-owned minimill), 17 scrap recycling facilities and 43 downstream operations, Gerdau Ameristeel primarily serves customers in the eastern two-thirds of North America.