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Olympic Steel Reports
Record 1st Quarter Results

April 30, 2004 — Olympic Steel, Inc. announced net income of $10.8 million on net sales of $187.0 million—record quarterly financial results—for the first quarter ended March 31, 2004.

Net income was the highest ever for the company, totaling $10.8 million ($1.12 per share), compared to a net loss of $479 thousand ($.05 per share) for last year's first quarter. Net sales increased 62.8% to a record $187.0 million from $114.9 million for the first quarter a year ago. Tons sold increased 43.2% to a record 385 thousand from 269 thousand in the first quarter of 2003.

"The diligent execution of our management plans positioned us extremely well during the first quarter, when steel demand and prices increased significantly," stated Michael D. Siegal, Chairman and CEO. "We are very pleased with our ability to perform and grow during a period of very tight steel supply. As indicated in our fourth quarter earnings release, in anticipation of a market recovery we aggressively and intentionally increased our inventory position at the end of 2003. This allowed us to be favorably inventoried to meet our customers' significantly increasing demand for steel during the first quarter. Our 43.2% increase in shipping volumes for the first quarter far outpaced the service center industry increase of approximately 25%. The increased volume of steel processed through our assets was a significant contributor to our best ever quarterly financial results."

"Our commercial relationships will continue to be guided by our core values of integrity, respect and financial stability, as we expect customer demand to remain strong, prices to remain elevated, and availability of steel to be tight through the second quarter. We believe we are favorably positioned in terms of inventory, equipment capacity, and working capital availability to continue performing well through the seasonally stronger second quarter," concluded Mr. Siegal.

Founded in 1954, Olympic Steel is a North American steel service center that is experienced in the specialized processing and distribution of large volumes of flat-rolled carbon and stainless steel products. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company operates 12 distribution and processing facilities and participates in two joint ventures in Michigan.

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