Insteel Industries, Inc. (NYSE:IIIN) Q1 2024 Results Conference Call January 18, 2024 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

H. Woltz - President & Chief Executive Officer

Scot Jafroodi - Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer

Conference Call Participants

Julio Romero - Sidoti & Company

Tyson Bauer - KC Capital

Operator

Good morning. And welcome to Insteel Industries First Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. My name is Carla, and I will be your operator for today. [Operator Instructions]

I will now hand over to your host H. Woltz, CEO to begin. Please go ahead when you are ready.

H. Woltz

Thank you. Good morning. Thank you for your interest in Insteel and welcome to our first quarter 2024 conference call which will be conducted by Scot Jafroodi, our Vice President, CFO and Treasurer; and me.

Before we begin, let me remind you that some of the comments made in our presentation are considered to be forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risk factors are described in our periodic filings with the SEC.

The recent environment has been challenging for the company in view of inventory accumulations throughout the supply chain and a significant downward reset in steel prices that occurred following several quarters of extreme supply tightness and significant market price escalations.

We believe these headwinds have about run their course and we continue to be optimistic about the underlying level of demand for our products. I'm going to call -- turn the call over to Scot to comment on our financial results for the quarter and the macro environment.

And then, I'll pick the call back up to discuss our business outlook.

Scot Jafroodi

Thank you, H and good morning to everyone joining us on the call. As we anticipated, business conditions remain challenging during the first quarter of fiscal 2024 as we continue to navigate through the ongoing pressure a narrowing spread between selling prices and raw material costs coupled with elevated unit manufacturing costs. As a result, net earnings for the quarter declined to $1.1 million or $0.06 per share from $11.1 million or $0.57 per share in the prior year period.

Net sales for the quarter fell 27.1% from a year ago, driven primarily by a reduction in average selling prices as shipments remains flat. The decline in ASPs for the quarter reflects a persistent competitive environment and the steep decline in steel scrap prices over the past year.