Chief Executive Officer Alan Kestenbaum said business is booming at the Canadian steelmaker after posting a blowout quarter that saw his company fully benefit from a recent rally in commodity prices.
The company said its first quarter revenue jumped 49 per cent to $665 million from a year earlier while adjusted earnings with interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was $185 million, up 756 per cent.
The strong results were propelled by what Kestenbaum said in a statement was a “rising tide" in steel and hot metal prices. Commodity prices have been trending higher over the last few months as the global economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re in a very fortunate position,” Kestenbaum said in a broadcast interview. “We made a lot of investments before 2021. Who know 2021 would start out the way it has been?”
He added any steel price gains accrued since the quarter ended will flow straight to the company’s bottom line.