Jan. 19, 2006 — Quanex Corp. announced that it expects to report fiscal first quarter 2006 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations in a range of $1.00 to $1.05 when it reports results on February 23, 2006.

The earnings expectation is some 35% higher than prior guidance, with the increase attributed to stronger-than-expected seasonal results in the Building Products segment and lower-than-anticipated scrap costs in the Vehicular Products segment.

The Vehicular Products segment, whose primary drivers are North American light vehicle builds and heavy duty truck builds, expects to report lower net sales due to more moderate raw material surcharges and reduced order rates compared to the year ago allocation environment. Operating income is forecast to be down on reduced shipments, but mitigated by strong margins due to weakening steel scrap costs. Bar shipments continue to improve during the quarter, and January shipments are expected to approach last year's January 2005 volume. MacSteel successfully completed its 2006 contract negotiations. A modest price increase, combined with targeted cost reductions, should enable it to maintain normalized margins.

The Building Products segment, whose primary drivers are housing starts and remodeling activity, expects to report record quarterly net sales and operating income compared to a year ago, due in part to the full-quarter impact of Mikron Industries, which was acquired December 9, 2004. Engineered Products, excluding Mikron's results, expects higher net sales and operating income. Nichols Aluminum expects lower net sales and operating income as order rates were weak early in the quarter, although demand has picked up markedly since the holidays.

Quanex Corp. is an industry-leading manufacturer of value-added engineered materials and components for the vehicular products and building products markets.