According to its fourth-quarter earnings guidance, SDI expects to report earnings in the range of US$3.34 to US$3.38 per diluted share. In the same quarter last year, earnings stood at US$5.49 per diluted share. 

The company said lower prices and higher raw material costs amplified metal spread compression, especially as its flat-rolled operations “work through higher-than-current-market-priced pig iron inventories ordered in early 2022 in reaction to the Ukraine and Russia supply chain disruptions.”

However, it said it believes flat roll steel prices have bottomed and are expected to increase into 2023, noting that “underlying steel demand and corresponding order activity remain intact from the automotive, non-residential construction, industrial, and energy sectors with some weakness in the residential sector.”