Houston-based Quanex, a maker of engineered materials and components for the vehicular products and building products markets, posted nearly $2 billion in revenues for 2005. The company also boasted a 7.9% profit margin and a 34.8% revenue growth.
For 2006, the financial news isn't as strong. First quarter results for the period ending Jan. 31, 2006, revealed net sales were $444.6 million compared to $465.2 million a year ago, and income from continuing operations was $33.5 million versus $33.9 million in the year-ago period.
"Segment demand was off compared to the allocation environment we experienced in the year-ago quarter, and consequently, steel bar tons shipped were down about 12%," said Raymond A. Jean, chairman and CEO, in a Feb. 23, 2006, statement. "However, our monthly shipped tons improved throughout the quarter, with January's tons within 7% of January 2005. Our customers' inventories are at relatively normalized levels following very heavy buying this time last year, and light vehicle builds in our first quarter were up 3% from the year-ago period. Lower material costs and a favorable product mix resulted in a slightly higher spread per ton in the segment. The order backlog continues to improve and we expect second quarter bar shipments to be essentially in-line with the year-ago level."
IW 50 Best Manufacturing Company
