Revenue during the quarter went up marginally by 1.75 percent to $2,061.60 million from $2,026.20 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 105 basis points over the previous year period to 29.78 percent. Total expenses were 94.36 percent of quarterly revenues, up from 94.30 percent for the same period last year. That has resulted in a contraction of 6 basis points in operating margin to 5.64 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $116.20 million, compared with $115.40 million in the previous year period.

"Operationally, 2016 was a terrific year for Reliance as our focus on maximizing our gross profit margin resulted in our first ever annual gross profit margin above 30%," said Gregg Mollins, president and chief executive officer of Reliance. "Although somewhat improved from 2015, the macro environment for our industry continued to be challenging with overall lower demand levels and pricing volatility resulting in a sales decline of $737 million in 2016 compared to 2015, due mostly to lower metal pricing. However, the expansion of our FIFO gross profit margin to 29.8% for the 2016 year, a 380 basis point improvement over 26.0% in 2015, added $328 million more gross profit dollars, generally offsetting the reduction to our pre-tax income from our lower sales levels. We believe our ability to increase our gross profit margin was made possible by the significant investments we have made in our value-added processing equipment to provide our customers with superior service and quality. Our effective pricing strategy and discipline implemented by our managers in the field along with our continued focus on inventory management further contributed to this success."

For the first-quarter, Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.25 to $1.35.

The company has spent $505.10 million cash to meet investing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $169.90 million in the last year.

The company has spent $100.20 million cash to carry out financing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $848.50 million in the last year period.

Cash and cash equivalents stood at $122.80 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, up 17.74 percent or $18.50 million from $104.30 million on Dec. 31, 2015.

Working capital increases sharply
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co has recorded an increase in the working capital over the last year. It stood at $2,032.50 million as at Dec. 31, 2016, up 29.91 percent or $468 million from $1,564.50 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Current ratio was at 4.10 as on Dec. 31, 2016, up from 2.58 on Dec. 31, 2015.

Debt remains almost stable
Total debt of Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co remained almost stable for the quarter at $1,929.20 million, when compared with the last year period. Total debt was 26.03 percent of total assets as on Dec. 31, 2016, compared with 27.08 percent on Dec. 31, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was at 0.46 as on Dec. 31, 2016, down from 0.49 as on Dec. 31, 2015. Interest coverage ratio improved to 6.12 for the quarter from 5.50 for the same period last year.