Steel Technologies Inc. reported net income of $5.7 million on sales of $256.4 million for the third quarter, and record net income of $35.5 million on record sales of $797.4 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2005.

Third Quarter Results—The $5.7 million net income ($0.43 per diluted share) compares with net income of $10.5 million ($ 0.81 per diluted share) in the year-earlier quarter. Sales of $256.4 million reflect a 10.5% increase compared to $232.0 million for the same period a year ago.

Nine Month Results—Year-to-date net income for fiscal 2005 increased to a record $35.5 million ($2.71 per diluted share) from $19.8 million ($1.80 per diluted share) in the first nine months of fiscal 2004, on approximately 19% more weighted average diluted shares outstanding, which resulted from the company's secondary stock offering of 2.9 million shares in March 2004. Sales rose 46% to a record $797.4 million from $547.7 million for the same period last year.

Comments—"Although this quarter's earnings were solid by historic measures, they were down from the peak market conditions of 2004," said Bradford T. Ray, Chairman and CEO. "As we indicated in our recent press release, during the latter part of the quarter, reduced demand for flat-rolled steel and softer market prices resulted in lower operating margins. Based on the current declining price environment, we expect margin pressure to persist over the next couple of months but anticipate more normalized conditions to develop by September into October.

"Our Mi-Tech Steel joint venture continued to experience substantial growth, adding to our earnings stream during the third quarter with a sales increase of 37% over year-earlier levels," Ray added.

"As we work through these short-term market dynamics, we remain committed to building on our strong customer relationships by continuing to expand the value we bring to the supply chain though our North American platform," Ray concluded.

Steel Technologies processes flat-rolled steel to specific thickness, width, temper, finish and shape requirements for automotive, appliance, lawn and garden, office furniture, agriculture, railcar, construction, hardware, and consumer goods. The company has 20 facilities, including its joint-venture operations, located throughout the United States and Mexico.