Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. reported net income of $46.4 million on record sales of $811.9 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2005.

The $46.4 million net income represents a 55% increase compared with net income of $29.8 million for the same period in 2004. Earnings per diluted share, $1.41, compare with earnings of $.92 per diluted share for the same period last year. Sales, a record $811.9 million, represent a 24% increase compared with 2004 first quarter sales of $655.8 million. Financial results include in cost of sales a pre-tax LIFO expense amount of $12.5 million ($.24 per diluted share) compared with $27.5 million ($.51 per diluted share) in the 2004 first quarter.

CEO David H. Hannah said, "During the 2005 first quarter, our average sales per day were the highest amounts in the history of Reliance. Our product diversification played an important role in our quarterly financial results. The percentage of total revenues from the higher-priced aluminum and stainless steel products increased and the percentage from carbon steel products decreased from the 2004 levels. Improved customer demand from the aerospace industry was the main driver of the additional sales of aluminum and stainless steel products. We have not seen any significant changes in demand from the other industries where we sell our products."

"Our gross profit margins contracted slightly, as expected, mainly due to the decline in carbon steel prices. However, our operating profit increased 43% from the first quarter of 2004 and 25% from the fourth quarter of 2004. This was the result of a decrease in our operating expenses to 16.3% of sales compared to 19.7% and 18.1% in the first and fourth quarters of 2004, respectively," said Hannah.

"Our $35.8 million of cash flow from operations resulted from our strong financial results and efficient working capital management and enabled us to reduce our net debt-to-total capital to 30.7% at March 31, 2005, compared to 33.6% at December 31, 2004. We are still excited about this favorable operating environment and are encouraged by the growth opportunities in our industry. At this time, we anticipate no significant changes in current business activity, but we do expect softness in carbon steel pricing to continue. We estimate earnings per diluted share for the 2005 second quarter in a range of $1.20 to $1.30," concluded Hannah.

On February 16, 2005, the company's Board of Directors declared a 29% increase in the regular quarterly cash dividend to $.09 per share of common stock. The dividend was paid on April 1, 2005 to shareholders of record March 11, 2005. In July of 2004, the quarterly dividend rate was increased 17%, or $.01 per share which, together with the $.02 per share February increase represents a 50% increase over the last three quarters. The Company has paid regular quarterly dividends for 45 consecutive years.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif., Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. is one of the largest metals service center companies in the United States. Through a network of more than 100 locations in 30 states and Belgium, France and South Korea, the company provides value-added metals processing services and distributes a full line of over 90,000 metal products. These products include galvanized, hot-rolled and cold-finished steel; stainless steel; aluminum; brass; copper; titanium and alloy steel sold to more than 95,000 customers in various industries.