North Carolina-based Insteel plans to benefit from continued growth in infrastructure construction across the US despite a decrease in net earnings in Q1 2020.
The manufacturer of steel wire reinforcing products for concrete construction applications plans to further penetrate the rebar market with engineered structural mesh for concrete reinforcing application while reporting its results for Q1.
Net sales decreased 6.3pc to $97.6mn from $104.1mn in the same quarter a year ago. A 16.1pc decrease in average selling price offset an 11.7pc increase in shipments.
The company reported a 10.9pc decrease in order shipments compared to Q4 2019 and a 3.4pc decline in average selling price over the same period due to customary seasonal slowdown.
Additionally, Insteel reported that it was negatively impacted by increased pricing pressure due to Section 232 tariffs that affected the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers like Insteel.
The company’s gross margins narrowed to 6.4pc from 10.5pc against the same quarter a year ago due to lower spreads between selling prices and raw materials costs, while its net earnings decreased in Q1 by 85pc to $0.6mn from $4.1mn in the same quarter a year ago.
H.O. Woltz, Insteels president and CEO, stated that the company was looking at initiating organic growth and the expansion of its cast-in-place business during the year.