Schnitzer starts fiscal year with positive numbers

Portland, Oregon-based Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. has announced results for its fiscal year 2022 first quarter, reporting robust revenue and profit figures. The company’s fiscal 2022 first quarter ended Nov. 30, 2021.

The scrap processing company, which also operates an electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mill in Portland, saw its revenue grow by some 62 percent compared with one year ago, rising from $492 million in the quarter ending Nov. 30, 2020, to $798 million in the recently completed quarter.

Schnitzer’s net income more than tripled—from $15 million in the first quarter of its 2021 fiscal year to $47 million in the quarter that ended late last year.

The company says its first-quarter performance “benefited from the strong global demand for recycled metals and a robust West Coast market for finished steel products.” Continues the firm, “The results reflected average selling prices at or near multi-year highs for ferrous, nonferrous and finished steel products [and] benefits from higher year-over-year ferrous and nonferrous sales volumes.”

Comments Tamara Lundgren, chair and CEO of Schnitzer, “Our results this quarter are our company’s best first-quarter earnings on record. Our strategic initiatives related to volume growth and productivity contributed to our expanded profitability, with higher ferrous and nonferrous sales volumes benefiting from our recent acquisition of the Columbus Recycling assets. We also benefited from positive market conditions supported by cyclical and structural trends, including the global focus on decarbonization and the increased use of recycled ferrous metals in steelmaking.”

In the company’s most recent quarter, Schnitzer says it handled nearly 1.15 million tons of ferrous scrap. That represents a 9 percent increase from the 1.05 million tons in the year-ago quarter. Its nonferrous scrap volume rose by nearly 11 percent, from 69,000 tons to 76,500 tons.

Average quarter-on-quarter scrap selling prices for the firm rose even higher. Ferrous scrap gained 66 percent in value (from $269 to $446 per ton). Nonferrous scrap sold at 64 percent higher on average, rising from 64 cents per pound in late 2020 to $1.05 one year later.