Commercial Metals Company (CMC) announced financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended May 31, 2024. Net earnings were $119.4 million, or $1.02 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion, compared to prior year period net earnings of $234.0 million, or $1.98 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.3 billion.
Peter Matt, president and chief executive officer, said, “Our business continued to generate strong financial results during the third quarter, with core EBITDA, core EBITDA margin, cash flows, and net earnings all at levels well above long-term averages. Each of these metrics also improved sequentially as we benefited from a healthy start to the 2024 construction season and solid operational performance across our footprint. Fundamentals remain good within our North American markets, supporting stable to modestly improving steel product margins, healthy shipment levels, and steady downstream backlog volumes. Encouragingly, we are realizing the impact of infrastructure activity on the demand for CMC’s early phase construction solutions, and expect the magnitude of this impact to grow over the next several years.”
The company’s balance sheet and liquidity position remained strong. As of May 31, 2024, cash and cash equivalents totaled $698.3 million, with available liquidity of nearly $1.5 billion. During the quarter, CMC repurchased 931,281 shares of common stock valued at $51.8 million in the aggregate. As of May 31, 2024, $458.6 million remained available under the current share repurchase authorization.
On June 19, 2024, the board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share of CMC common stock payable to stockholders of record on July 1, 2024, representing an increase of approximately 13 percent on a year-over-year basis. The dividend to be paid on July 10, 2024, marks the 239th consecutive quarterly payment by the Company.
Business Segments – Fiscal Third Quarter 2024
Despite historically high levels of rain, North American demand for CMC’s products was good during the quarter, showing a typical seasonal uplift from the winter months into spring. North America Steel Group finished steel shipments, which include steel products and downstream products, increased 12.3 percent on a sequential basis but were down modestly compared to the prior year period. Rebar supply and demand were in balance at quarter end as stronger seasonal consumption reduced pockets of excess inventory that had developed within certain regions following disruptive second quarter weather. The construction pipeline remained historically strong, with a large number of potential projects entering the market, as new contract awards continued at a seasonally appropriate pace. Consequently, downstream backlog volumes were generally stable compared to the prior quarter. Demand from industrial end markets, which is important for merchant products, was in-line with the prior year’s third quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA for the North America Steel Group decreased to $246.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2024 from $367.6 million in the prior year period. The earnings reduction was driven by lower margins over scrap costs on steel and downstream products, partially offset by improvements in controllable cost performance. During the quarter CMC incurred $11.8 million in costs, net of depreciation, related to the commissioning of its Arizona 2 micro mill, compared to costs of $7.3 million during the prior year period. The adjusted EBITDA margin for the North America Steel Group of 14.7 percent was consistent with the year-to-date average of 15.5 percent.
Europe market conditions in the third quarter were similar sequentially, maintaining the marked improvement that emerged during the second quarter compared to late fiscal 2023 and early fiscal 2024. Long-steel consumption remained substantially below historical levels, but better demand in certain end market applications, regional supply discipline, and lower inventories across the supply chain improved steel pricing stability. The Europe Steel Group reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $4.2 million, continuing the trend of improved financial performance. On a sequential basis, financial results benefited from higher margins over scrap, increased shipment volumes, and lower controllable costs per ton. Europe Steel Group’s average selling price increased $8 per ton from the second quarter of fiscal 2024, while scrap costs decreased by $5 per ton, leading to a $13 per ton margin expansion.
Emerging Businesses Group third quarter net sales of $188.6 million were unchanged from the prior year period and up 20.9 percent on a sequential basis. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment of $38.2 million was similarly unchanged on a year-over-year basis and was more than double the second quarter level. Sequential improvement in net sales and adjusted EBITDA were driven by seasonally higher construction activity and robust project specific shipments of geogrid solutions and Performance Reinforcing Steel. Sales mix contributed positively to sequential adjusted EBITDA growth, with a greater percentage of geogrid volumes composed of CMC’s highest margin proprietary offering. Demand conditions in the North American markets remained strong during the quarter and CMC experienced good levels of order entry for delivery in future periods.