RELIANCE STEEL & ALUMINUM CO - Annual Report: 2022 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

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Commission file number: 001-13122

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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16100 N. 71st Street, Suite 400

Scottsdale, Arizona 85254

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(480) 564-5700

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐  No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐  No ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the closing price on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2022 was approximately $10,280,000,000. For purposes of this computation, it is assumed that the shares of voting stock held by directors and officers would be deemed to be stock held by affiliates. As of February 24, 2023, 58,979,530 shares of the registrant’s common stock, $0.001 par value, were outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders to be held on May 17, 2023 are incorporated by reference in Part III.

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INDEX

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

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Unless otherwise indicated or required by the context, as used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the terms “Company,” “Reliance,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. and all of its subsidiaries that are consolidated in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. This Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information incorporated by reference contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We may also provide oral or written forward-looking information in other materials we release to the public. Our forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, discussions of our industry and end markets, our business strategies and our expectations concerning future demand and metals pricing and our results of operations, margins, profitability, impairment charges, taxes, liquidity, capital expenditures, macroeconomic conditions, including inflation and the possibility of an economic recession or slowdown, litigation matters and capital resources. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “preliminary,” “range,” “intend” and “continue,” the negative of these terms, and similar expressions. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the future that are implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and other factors include those described in “Risk Factors” (Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K) and “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” (Part II, Item 7A). In addition, other factors of which the Company is not currently aware may affect the accuracy of our forward-looking information and may cause actual results to differ from those discussed. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in our forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, but not limited to, actions taken by us, including restructuring and impairment charges, as well as developments beyond our control, including, the unknown duration and economic, operational and financial impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, an economic recession or the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and changes in worldwide and U.S. economic conditions that materially impact our customers, the demand and availability of our products and services, including supply disruptions, labor shortages and inflation. Further deteriorations in economic conditions could lead to a further or prolonged decline in demand for our products and services and negatively impact our business, and may also impact financial markets and corporate credit markets which could adversely impact our access to financing, or the terms of any financing.

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We do not assume any responsibility to publicly update any of our forward-looking statements regardless of whether factors change as a result of new information, future events, or for any other reason, except as may be required by law. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. You should review any additional disclosures we make in our press releases and other documents we file or furnish with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including our Forms 10-Q and 8-K.

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This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes registered trademarks, trade names and service marks of the Company and its subsidiaries.

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PART I

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Item 1.  Business

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We are a leading diversified metal solutions provider and the largest metals service center company in North America (U.S. and Canada) based on revenues, with 2022 net sales of $17.03 billion.

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We have been in business over 80 years since our original organization on February 3, 1939, operating a single metals service center in Los Angeles, California fabricating steel reinforcing bar. We reincorporated in the State of Delaware in 2015. Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “RS” and was first traded on September 16, 1994.

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We believe we have a unique and sustainable business model predicated on the following key attributes:

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We operate through a network of approximately 315 locations in 40 U.S. states and in 12 foreign countries. We distribute a full line of over 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium and specialty steel products.

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We have more than 125,000 customers in a variety of industries, including general manufacturing, non-residential construction (including infrastructure), transportation (rail, truck trailer and shipbuilding), aerospace (commercial; military, defense and space), energy (oil and natural gas), electronics and semiconductor fabrication, and heavy industry (agricultural, construction and mining equipment). We also service the auto industry, primarily through our toll processing operations where we process the metal for a fee, without taking ownership of the metal.

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Our diversification by product, end market and geography helps mitigate volatility in metals pricing and changing end market conditions. We are not dependent on any particular customer or industry because we process and distribute a variety of metals. This diversity of product type and material reduces our exposure to fluctuations or other weaknesses in the financial stability of particular customers or industries. We are also less dependent on any particular suppliers as a result of our product diversification. As a result, we have remained profitable every year, even during recessionary periods and a global pandemic, since our initial public offering in 1994.

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We believe that our focus on servicing customers with small order sizes and quick turnaround, along with our growth and diversification strategy, has been instrumental in our ability to produce industry-leading operating results among publicly traded metals service center companies in North America. In 2022, approximately 97% of our orders were from repeat customers and we delivered approximately 40% of our orders within 24 hours of the customer placing the order with us.

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We provide a wide variety of processing services to meet our customers’ specifications and deliver products to fabricators, manufacturers and other end users. We believe that few other metals service centers offer the broad range of processing services and metals that we provide. Our primary processing services range from cutting, leveling or sawing to more complex processes such as machining or electropolishing. We generally only process specific metals to non-standard sizes pursuant to customer purchase order specifications. In addition, we typically acquire standard size and grade products that can be processed into many different sizes to meet the needs of many different customers.

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We have increased the amount of value-added processing services we provide through recent acquisitions and significant investments in new equipment over the past several years. Expanding our value-added capabilities (including toll processing) and increasing the percentage of our total sales represented by the higher margin orders generated from those capabilities, helps reduce the volatility in our profitability ratios during periods of unfavorable metals demand and/or pricing.

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According to the Metals Service Center Institute (“MSCI”) reporting of industry tons sold in the U.S., our 2022 tons sold from our U.S. locations represented approximately 14.5% of the total tons sold by the U.S. metals service center industry. Metals service centers are the largest single customer group for the North America primary metals producers (“mills”) in the broader metals wholesale industry with estimated sales of approximately $219 billion according to IBISWorld Inc.’s July 2022 report, a global intelligence publication. We believe our relatively low level of market share shown by MSCI leaves significant opportunity for further strategic growth within the industry.

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We primarily operate in the spot market for both the purchase and sale of our products. As a limited portion of our business is dependent on long-term contractual commitments, we have the ability to quickly pass on raw material price increases to our customers and maintain consistency in our gross profit margin.

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We believe we are one of the largest customers of the North American mills.  We believe that our significant scale and relationships with suppliers enable significant purchasing power and product availability in all market conditions.

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Our business is relationship-based and we operate under the following trade names:

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We have one operating and reportable segment—metals service centers. Further information about our reportable segment, including geographic information, appears in Note 18—“Segment information” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

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Industry Overview

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Metals service centers acquire carbon steel, aluminum, stainless and alloy steel and other metal products from mills, and then process and distribute these materials to meet customer specifications.

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Customers purchase from metals service centers for a variety of reasons, including the ability to obtain value-added metals processing, readily available inventory, reliable and timely delivery, flexible minimum order size, and quality control. Many customers deal exclusively with service centers because the quantities of metal products that they purchase are smaller than the minimum order sizes specified by mills or because those customers require intermittent deliveries over long or irregular periods. Metals service centers respond to a niche market created because of the focus on when-needed inventory management and materials management outsourcing in the capital goods and related industries. In general, metals service center customers have placed increased emphasis on carrying lower amounts of inventory, especially during declining price environments.

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The processing services we provide save our customers time, labor, and expense, reducing their overall manufacturing costs. Specialized metals processing equipment requires high utilization to be cost effective. We believe many manufacturers and their suppliers are not able or willing to invest in the necessary technology, equipment, and warehousing of inventory to perform efficient and effective metal processing themselves for their own operations. Accordingly, we believe industry dynamics have created a niche in the market for metals service centers. Metals service centers purchase, process, and deliver metals to end-users in a more efficient and cost-effective manner than the end-user could achieve by dealing directly with the primary producer. The metals service centers of the MSCI comprise the largest customer group for North American mills, buying and reselling almost 50% of all the carbon, alloy, stainless and specialty steels, aluminum, copper, brass, bronze and superalloys produced in the United States according to a July 2022 report on the metals wholesaling industry issued by IBISWorld Inc., a global intelligence publication.

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According to IBISWorld Inc.’s July 2022 report, the United States metals wholesale industry (comprised of metals service centers of the MSCI and other metal wholesaling distributors) revenues were expected to grow approximately 15% from $191 billion in 2021 to approximately $219 billion in 2022, primarily due to increases in metal prices. IBISWorld Inc. expects the largest industry participants to represent less than 10% of the estimated $219 billion industry total in 2022. Our 2022 U.S. revenues of approximately $16 billion represented about 7% of the entire U.S. metals wholesaling market based on IBISWorld Inc.’s estimated 2022 industry revenues. However, the measurement of our market share based on the shipment levels of the metals service center industry published by the MSCI, who does not also publish estimated industry revenues, was at 14.5%, which we believe is due to the inclusion of non-metal service center companies in the broader metals wholesaling industry as defined by IBISWorld Inc. Regardless of the measurement of our market share through our tons sold via MSCI industry shipments or our sales relative to what we believe to be the broader metals wholesaling industry, our relatively low market share provides us significant opportunity for growth.

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We believe that metals service centers are generally less susceptible to market cycles than metals producers because service centers are generally able to pass on all or a portion of increases in metal costs to their customers. As we have a limited long-term contractual business and focus on rapid inventory turnover, we believe that we are generally less vulnerable to changing metals prices than metals producers. However, fluctuations in metals pricing have a significant impact on our revenue and profit.

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Operational Strategy

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Our primary business strategy is to provide the highest levels of quality and service to our customers in the safest, most efficient operational manner, allowing us to maximize our financial results. The core tenets of our differentiated approach include:

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Growth Strategy

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Our growth strategy is based on increasing our operating results through organic growth activities and strategic acquisitions that enhance our product, customer and geographic diversification. We believe our focused growth strategy and increasing the level of value-added services we provide our customers makes us less vulnerable to regional or industry-specific economic volatility and somewhat lessens the negative impact of volatility experienced in commodity pricing and cyclicality of our customer end markets, as well as general economic trends.

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We expect to continue growing our business through acquisitions and internal growth initiatives, particularly those that diversify our products, customer base and geographic locations and increase our sales of high-margin specialty products and value-added processing services.

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Sales and Marketing

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Sales personnel are organized by division or subsidiary and are divided into two groups. Outside sales personnel travel throughout a specified geographic territory and maintain relationships with our existing customers and develop new customers. Inside sales personnel remain at the facilities to price and write orders. Outside sales personnel generally receive incentive compensation based on the gross profit from their particular geographic territories. Inside sales personnel generally receive incentive compensation based on the gross profit and/or pretax income of their particular location.

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We acquire well-run businesses with strong customer relationships and solid reputations within the marketplace. Because of this, we find value in the acquired trade name and continue to use the business name and maintain the customer relationships.

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Customers

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Although we sell directly to many large original equipment manufacturer customers, the majority of our sales are to small machine shops and fabricators, in small quantities with frequent deliveries, helping them manage their working

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capital and credit needs more efficiently. Our metals service centers wrote and delivered over 4.6 million orders during 2022 or an average of 18,460 per day, with an average price of approximately $3,670 per order. Most of our metals service center customers are located within a 200-mile radius of the Reliance metals service center serving them. The proximity of our service centers to our customers helps reduce total road miles and carbon emissions, promote efficient routing and provide quick delivery. With our fleet of approximately 1,720 trucks (some of which are leased), we are able to service many smaller customers and provide quick turnaround deliveries. We believe that maintaining our own fleet of trucks and drivers provides a competitive advantage as there has been a shortage of qualified drivers and third-party freight costs have been at elevated levels in recent years. Moreover, our order entry systems and flexible production scheduling enable us to meet customer requirements for short lead times and quick delivery, when needed. In 2022, approximately 97% of our orders were from repeat customers. We believe that our long-term relationships with many of our customers significantly contribute to the success of our business. Providing prompt and efficient services and quality products at reasonable prices are important factors in maintaining and expanding these relationships.

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We have built and opened international locations in recent years to service specific industries, typically making limited investments to support existing key U.S. customers that also operate in those international markets. Accordingly, our exposure to risks associated with such investments is minimal. Sales from our foreign operations were 6% of our net sales for the year ended December 31, 2022, or $1.05 billion. However sales to international customers (based on the shipping destination) were approximately 8% of our consolidated 2022 net sales, or $1.37 billion, with approximately 29%, or $398.0 million, to Canadian customers.

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Customer demand changes from time to time based on, among other things, general economic conditions and industry capacity. Many of the industries in which our customers compete are cyclical in nature. Because we sell to a wide variety of customers in a wide variety of industries, we believe that we are able to somewhat mitigate earnings volatility. In addition, many of our customers are small job shops and fabricators who also have a diverse customer base and the versatility to service different end markets when an existing market slows.

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Due to our focus on small orders, decentralized operating structure and the diversity of the markets we serve, customer concentrations are not significant. Our largest customer represented only 1.2% of our net sales in 2022. In 2022, we generated sales greater than $25 million from only 44 customers.

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Suppliers

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We primarily purchase our inventory from the major metals producers in North America. Our U.S. operations do, however, also purchase minimal amounts of certain products from foreign producers. We have multiple suppliers for all of our products.

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Because of our total volume of purchases and our long-term relationships with our suppliers, we believe that we are generally able to purchase inventory at the most competitive prices offered by our suppliers. We believe that these relationships provide us with an advantage in sourcing product to be available for our customers in accelerated timeframes when needed, and also allow us to more efficiently manage our inventory. We believe both our size and our long-term relationships with our suppliers continue to be important because mill consolidation has reduced the number of suppliers.

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Seasonality

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Some of our customers are in seasonal businesses, especially customers in the construction industry and related businesses. Our overall operations have not shown any material seasonal trends as a result of our geographic, product and customer diversity. Typically, revenues in the months of July, November and December have been lower than in other months because of a reduced number of working days for shipments of our products, resulting from holidays observed by the Company as well as vacation and extended holiday closures at some of our customers. The number of shipping days in each quarter also has an impact on our quarterly sales and profitability. Results of any one or more quarters are therefore not necessarily indicative of annual results.

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Competition

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The metals service center industry is highly fragmented and competitive within localized areas or regions. Many of our competitors operate single, stand-alone service centers. According to IBISWorld Inc., there were approximately 11,200 metal wholesaling locations operated by approximately 8,800 companies in the United States in 2022. Our 2022 tons sold from our U.S. locations represented approximately 14.5% of the total tons sold by the U.S. metals service center industry according to MSCI reporting. The significant number of metals service centers that exist in this fragmented market creates opportunities for us to expand by making acquisitions.

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We have numerous competitors in each of our product lines and geographic locations, and competition is most frequently local or regional. Our domestic service center competitors are generally smaller than we are, but we also face strong competition from national, regional and local independent metals distributors and the producers themselves, some of which have greater resources than we do.

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We compete with other companies on price, service, quality, processing capability and availability of products and services. We maintain relationships with our major suppliers at the executive and local levels. We believe that this division of responsibility has increased our ability to obtain competitive prices of metals by leveraging our total size and to provide more responsive service to our customers by allowing our local management teams to make the purchasing decisions. In addition, we believe that the size of our inventory, the diversity of metals products we have available, and the wide variety of processing services we provide distinguish us from our competition. We believe our competitors are generally unable to offer the same high-quality products and services we provide using state-of-the-art equipment and advanced technology as they do not have the financial ability or risk tolerance to grow their businesses at the same rate as Reliance. We believe our industry-leading financial results in recent years were due to our strong financial condition, the high quality of products and services we are able to offer as a result of our significant investments in our acquired businesses, facilities and equipment, as well as our continued focus on small order sizes with quick turnaround.

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Human Capital

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At December 31, 2022, we employed approximately 14,500 persons worldwide, of which approximately 12,800 were employed in the United States. Our total workforce of approximately 15,000 persons at December 31, 2022 includes approximately 500 contract and temporary workers.

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As of December 31, 2022, approximately 13% of our employees were represented by unions under collective bargaining agreements. We have entered into collective bargaining agreements with 42 union locals at 52 of our locations. These collective bargaining agreements have not had a material impact on our revenues or profitability. From time to time, our collective bargaining agreements expire and come up for renegotiation. Approximately 500 employees are covered by 23 different collective bargaining agreements that expire in 2023.

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As a result of a materiality assessment, we determined that Reliance’s most significant social issues are: (i) the health and safety of our colleagues; and (ii) human capital management. We seek to create an environment that values the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, their families and the communities in which we live and do business. We strive to equip our employees with the knowledge, skills and resources to maintain or improve their personal health, develop professionally and operate safely within our businesses. A highlight of our commitment to our employees is the inclusion of “People” as one of our six core values that represent key areas of focus for our company. For more information on the Company’s core values, see the Company’s Code of Conduct available at investor.rsac.com. Among the critical elements included in the People category are the following:

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The health and safety of our employees, customers, suppliers and communities is our most important core value. Our safety programs are designed around recognized standards with appropriate variations addressing the multiple jurisdictions and regulations, specific hazards and unique working environments of our operations. Our SMART Safety program focuses on embedding our culture of safety across all of our operations. We strive to have zero fatalities and no life-threatening or life-altering injuries and illnesses from working at our facilities.

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Our executive team supports a safety management system that includes policies, standard practices and goals at our facilities, including:

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The Company utilizes a mixture of indicators to assess the health and safety performance of its domestic operations. Lagging indicators include the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) Total Recordable Incident Rate (“TRIR”) and average Department of Transportation Recordable Accident Rate per million miles (“DOT Rate”).

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Our focus on safety is evident in our 2022 TRIR being our lowest ever and lower than 3.5, as reported in the most recent Metals Service Center Institute survey performed in 2020. A lower TRIR means that fewer people are injured, and fewer lives are negatively impacted. We have not identified a universally accepted and annually updated benchmarking standard for DOT Rate.

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We believe that superior Company performance requires contributions from a diverse workforce that includes a variety of employee experiences, backgrounds, and characteristics. We are committed to providing fair and unbiased opportunities and hiring, developing and supporting a diverse and inclusive workplace. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is also reinforced by our Code of Conduct, which prohibits employment discrimination or harassment based on race, color, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), national origin, religion, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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The health, wellness and wellbeing of our employees is critical to our success. We are committed to providing our employees with resources to help them achieve their personal health, wellness, and wellbeing goals. As part of our comprehensive benefits offering, we provide employees and their covered spouses/domestic partners with a robust employee assistance program, individualized assessments, access to lab or on-site health screenings and personalized wellness coaching. Our customizable program integrates web-based tools, phone and mail-based communications, local activities and is designed to support the diverse and individualized needs of our employees in order to help them improve or maintain their health status and ongoing engagement in healthy behaviors.

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To help attract and retain the best employees, we strive to offer competitive compensation and best-in-class benefits. In addition to base salaries, our compensation programs can include annual bonuses, stock-based compensation awards, a 401(k) plan with employee matching opportunities, healthcare insurance and welfare benefits, health savings and flexible spending accounts. We believe that we provide industry-leading healthcare

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benefits to our employees and fund approximately 86% of the costs associated with our U.S. employees’ health insurance coverage.

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Reliance is committed to investing in and enriching the communities in which we live and work. Giving back to those in need and enriching people's lives is a deep-rooted philosophy ingrained in our corporate culture primarily through our support of non-profit organizations that provide active duty, veterans, transitioning service members and their families with advanced manufacturing training and other support services. Our dedication to each and every member of our Family of Companies is the foundation for “Reliance Cares,” our emergency assistance fund dedicated to supporting employees impacted by natural disasters. Through employee funded contributions, matched dollar-for-dollar by Reliance, we have been able to provide approximately 1,000 grants to employees (including approximately 170 grants to support employees and their families responding to COVID-19 related personal impacts) since the inception of Reliance Cares in 2017.

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We believe employees should have an opportunity for ongoing development through challenging daily contributions and structured development programs. We launched an annual evolving leaders program focused on the continued training of selected employees, encouraging the development in several areas of our business, leadership and communication, along with opportunities for enterprise-wide collaboration to drive an approach to innovative problem solving and solutions. We continue to expand our talent management initiatives to pursue the significant long-term potential for our continued success. Our success is dependent on the knowledge, skills and abilities of our current and future leaders.

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Quality Control

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Procuring high-quality metal from suppliers on a consistent basis is critical to our business. We maintain strict quality control measures to assure that the quality of purchased raw materials will enable us to meet our customers’ specifications and to reduce the costs of production interruptions. In certain instances, we perform physical and chemical analyses on selected raw materials, typically through a third-party testing lab, to verify that mechanical and dimensional properties, cleanliness and surface characteristics meet our requirements and our customers’ specifications. We also conduct certain analyses of surface characteristics on selected processed metal before delivery to the customer. We believe that maintaining high standards for accepting metals ultimately results in reduced return rates from our customers.

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We maintain various quality certifications throughout our operations. Approximately 50% of our operating locations have earned International Organization for Standardization (ISO 9001:2015) certifications. Many of our locations maintain additional certifications specific to the industries they serve, such as aerospace, auto, nuclear, and others, including certain international certifications.

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Government Regulation

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Beyond our compliance requirements with environmental regulations, compliance with government regulations has not had and, based on laws and regulations currently in effect, is not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position. 

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Our operations are also subject to laws and regulations relating to workplace safety and worker health, principally the OSHA and related regulations, which, among other requirements, establish noise, dust and safety standards. We maintain comprehensive health and safety policies and encourage our employees to follow established safety practices.

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We are subject to the conflict mineral provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. We are required to undertake due diligence, disclose and report whether the products we sell originate from the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries. We verify with our suppliers the origins of all metals used in our products.

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We sell metals to foreign customers and otherwise operate abroad, subjecting us to various countries’ trade regulations concerning the import and export of materials and finished products. Our operations are subject to the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which we conduct our business that seek to prevent corruption and bribery in the marketplace, including the United States’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) and the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act 2010. We have developed and implemented company-wide export and anti-corruption policies designed to provide our employees clear statements of our compliance requirements and to ensure compliance with applicable export and anti-corruption regulations. For information about risks related to government regulation, please see the risk factors set forth under the caption Item 1A. “Risk Factors” including the Risk Factors captioned “We are subject to various environmental, employee safety and health, and customs and export laws and regulations, which could subject us to significant liabilities and compliance expenditures;” and “We operate internationally and are subject to exchange rate fluctuations, exchange controls, political risks and other risks relating to international operations.”

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Environmental

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We are not a metals producer or mill – we operate metals service centers. As a distributor and “first-stage” processor of metal products, our operations, by their nature, have a limited environmental impact as we do not emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.

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In addition, the overwhelming majority of our operations involve the processing and distribution of inherently sustainable aluminum and steel products that we believe (i) are some of the most commonly-recycled materials in the United States and (ii) can be 100% recycled without loss of quality. We believe aluminum and steel are some of the most recycled materials on the planet—more than plastic, paper, and glass combined each year. In 2022, we reintroduced over 197,500 tons of recycled scrap material into the manufacturing life cycle.

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We continue to evaluate and implement energy conservation and other initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of our business. However, enactment of more stringent environmental regulations could have an adverse impact on our financial results. In addition, the manufacture and production of the materials we source from mills can be a carbon-intensive activity, and adoption of more stringent carbon regulations or policies may increase the prices of these materials.

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As a processor and distributor of metals, and not a producer, we acknowledge and embrace our role in protecting the environment and are currently assessing our impacts. Our strong desire is to identify and prioritize areas of improvement. In order to align our environmental initiatives with our broader strategy, we completed a materiality assessment in 2021 to determine the environmental matters that are most critical to our business and our stakeholders.

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As a result of the materiality assessment, we determined that the most material environmental issues are: (i) emissions from company-owned trucks that deliver our products; and (ii) our overall energy usage. We expect to update this materiality assessment on a periodic basis to ensure it reflects changes in our business and the external environment. 

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Available Information

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We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other documents with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information regarding issuers, including our Company, that file reports electronically with the SEC. The public can obtain any reports that we file with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

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Our Investor Relations website is located at http://investor.rsac.com. Our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act are made available, free of charge, through our website as soon as reasonably practical after we electronically file or furnish the reports to the SEC. Information about Reliance’s ESG-related programs and initiatives is available under the “ESG” section of the Company’s website. Additional corporate governance information, including our restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws, principles of corporate governance, Board committee charters, code of conduct and anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy, is available under Corporate Governance in the “Investors” section of the Company’s website. We encourage investors to visit our website.

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The website addresses presented above and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not intended to function as hyperlinks, and the information contained in our website and in the SEC’s website is not intended to be a part of this filing.

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Item 1A.  Risk Factors

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Set forth below are the risks that we believe are material to our investors. Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected due to any of the following risks. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks of which we are not presently aware or that we currently believe are immaterial may also harm our business.

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Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

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The costs that we pay for metals fluctuate due to a number of factors beyond our control, and such fluctuations could adversely affect our operating results, particularly if we cannot pass on higher metal prices to our customers.

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We purchase large quantities of aluminum, carbon, stainless and alloy steel and other metals, which we sell to a variety of customers. Our profitability is largely dependent upon the prices of the steel, aluminum, and other metals we sell our customers. The price of metals we purchase and the price we charge our customers for the products we sell change based on many factors outside of our control, including general economic conditions (both domestic and international), competition, production levels, raw material costs, customer demand levels, import duties and other trade restrictions, currency fluctuations and surcharges imposed by our suppliers. Prolonged disruption in the supply and/or distribution of metals due to weather, climate change, natural disasters, COVID-19, labor disputes or interruption of service by carriers could increase costs, limit the availability of materials critical to our operations and have a significant impact on results. We attempt to pass cost increases on to our customers with higher selling prices, but we are not always able to do so, particularly when the cost increases are not demand driven. When metal prices decrease, we often cannot replace our higher cost inventory with the lower cost metal at a rate that would allow us to maintain a consistent gross profit margin, which would reduce our profitability during that interim period.

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Metal prices are volatile due to, among other things, fluctuations in foreign and domestic production capacity, raw material availability and related pricing, metals consumption, tariffs, import levels into the U.S., governmental regulations, and the strength of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies. Future changes in global general economic conditions or in production, consumption or export of metals could cause fluctuations in metal prices globally, which could adversely affect our profitability and cash flows. We generally do not enter into long-term agreements with our suppliers or hedging arrangements that could lessen the impact of metal price fluctuations.

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We maintain substantial inventories of metal to accommodate the short lead times and delivery requirements of our customers. Our customers typically purchase products from us pursuant to purchase orders and typically do not enter into long-term purchase agreements or arrangements with us. Accordingly, we purchase metal in quantities we believe to be appropriate to satisfy the anticipated needs of our customers based on information derived from customers, market conditions, historic usage and industry research. Commitments for metal purchases are generally at prevailing market prices in effect at the time orders are placed or at the time of shipment. During periods of rising metal costs, our results may be negatively impacted by increases in the costs of the metals we purchase if we are unable to make equivalent increases in the selling prices of the products we sell. In addition, when metal prices decline, our selling prices generally decline and, as we sell inventory purchased at higher costs, results in lower gross profit margins. Consequently, during periods in which we sell this existing inventory, the effects of changing metal prices could adversely affect our operating results.

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Global economic conditions, including inflation, and supply chain disruptions, have adversely affected, and could continue to adversely affect, our operations.

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Our financial condition and results of operations are impacted by global markets and economic conditions over which we do not have control. A general global economic downturn or other adverse macroeconomic trends, including heightened inflation, capital markets volatility, currency rate fluctuations, an economic slowdown or recession, or a slowing or stalled

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recovery therefrom, have in the past resulted in and may in the future result in unfavorable conditions that negatively affect demand for our products and exacerbate some of the other risks that affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Both domestic and international markets experienced significant inflationary pressures in fiscal year 2022 and inflation rates in the U.S., as well as in other countries in which we operate, are currently expected to continue at elevated levels for the near-term. In addition, the Federal Reserve in the U.S. and other central banks in various countries have raised, and may again raise, interest rates in response to concerns about inflation, which, coupled with reduced government spending and volatility in financial markets, has had and may continue to have the effect of further increasing economic uncertainty and heightening these risks. Interest rate increases or other government actions taken to reduce inflation have resulted in recessionary pressures in many parts of the world.

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Recent inflationary pressures have increased the costs of labor, energy and raw materials and have adversely affected consumer spending, economic growth and our operations. If we are unable to pass any increases in costs along to our customers, it could adversely affect our operating results.

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The 2022 Russian military invasion of Ukraine has led, is currently leading, and for an unknown period of time will continue to lead to disruptions in local, regional, national, and global markets and economies affected thereby. These disruptions caused by the invasion have included, and may continue to include, political, social, and economic disruptions and uncertainties and material increases in certain commodity prices that may affect our business operations.

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Excess capacity and over-production by foreign metal producers or decreases in tariffs could increase the level of metal imports into the U.S., resulting in lower domestic prices, which would adversely affect our sales, margins and profitability.

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Global metal-making capacity exceeds demand for metal products in some regions around the world. Rather than reducing employment by rationalizing capacity with consumption, we believe metal manufacturers in many countries (often with government assistance or subsidies in various forms) have periodically exported metal at prices which may not reflect their costs of production or capital. Excessive imports of metal into the U.S. have exerted, and may continue to exert, downward pressure on U.S. metal prices.

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On March 1, 2018, the United States announced a plan to indefinitely impose a 25 percent tariff on certain imported steel products and a 10 percent tariff on certain imported aluminum products under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (the “Section 232”) tariffs.

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These tariffs have triggered retaliatory actions by certain affected countries, and other foreign governments have initiated or are considering imposing trade measures on steel and aluminum produced in the United States. To the extent these tariffs and other trade actions result in a decrease in international demand for steel and aluminum produced in the United States or otherwise negatively impact demand for our products, our business may be adversely impacted.

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We expect that these tariffs, while in effect, will discourage metal imports from non-exempt countries. These tariffs have had a favorable impact on the prices of the products we sell and our results of operations. If these or other tariffs or duties expire or if others are relaxed or repealed, or if relatively higher U.S. metal prices make it attractive for foreign metal producers to export their products to the U.S., despite the presence of duties or tariffs, the resurgence of substantial imports of foreign metal could create downward pressure on U.S. metal prices which could have a material adverse effect on our earnings and future results of operations.

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We operate in an industry that is subject to cyclical fluctuations and any downturn in general economic conditions or in our customers’ specific industries could negatively impact our profitability and cash flows.

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The metals service center industry is cyclical and impacted by both market demand and metals supply. Periods of economic slowdown (such as global or regional recessions) decrease the demand for our products and adversely affect our pricing. If either demand or pricing were to decline from the current levels, this could reduce our profitability and cash flows.

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We sell many products to industries that are cyclical, such as the non-residential construction, semiconductor, energy, automotive, aerospace and heavy equipment industries. Although many of our direct sales are to sub-contractors or job shops that may serve many customers and industries, the demand for our products is directly related to, and quickly impacted by, demand for the finished goods manufactured by customers in these industries, which may change as a result of changes in the general U.S. or worldwide economy, inflation, domestic exchange rates, energy prices or other factors beyond our control.

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Our business may continue to be negatively impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and could be negatively impacted by other pandemics and outbreaks.

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Our operations were adversely affected in 2022 by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and related macroeconomic effects, including labor shortages, raw material constraints and other supply chain disruptions. The ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic could further affect general economic conditions, our business and results of operations. Future developments would dictate the type and level of these potential impacts, which are highly uncertain and are difficult to predict.

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In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a widespread health crisis that is adversely affecting the economies and financial markets of many countries, which could result in a prolonged economic downturn that may negatively affect demand for our products and services. The imposition of quarantine and travel restrictions has negatively affected and, if reimposed, may continue to negatively affect our business. The extent to which COVID-19 continues to impact our business, results of operations and financial condition is highly uncertain and will depend on future developments. Such developments may include the geographic spread and duration of the virus, including the emergence of new variants, the severity of the disease, vaccination rates and the actions that may be taken by various governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the pandemic. Other outbreaks of contagious diseases, or other adverse public health developments in countries where we operate or our customers are located, could similarly adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition in the future.

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We compete with a large number of companies in the metals service center industry, and, if we are unable to compete effectively, our profitability and cash flows may decline.

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We compete with a large number of other general-line distributors and processors, and specialty distributors in the metals service center industry. Competition is based principally on price, inventory availability, timely delivery, customer service, quality and processing capabilities. Competition in the various markets in which we participate comes from companies of various sizes, some of which have more established brand names in the local markets that we serve. To compete for customer sales, we may lower prices or offer increased services at a higher cost, which could reduce our profitability and cash flows. Rapidly declining prices and/or demand levels may escalate competitive pressures, with service centers selling at substantially reduced prices, and sometimes at a loss, in an effort to reduce their high-cost inventory and generate cash. Any increased and/or sustained competitive pressure could cause our share of industry sales to decline along with our profitability and cash flows.

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If we were to lose any of our primary suppliers or otherwise be unable to obtain sufficient amounts of necessary metals on a timely basis, we may not be able to meet our customers’ needs and may suffer reduced sales.

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We have few long-term contracts to purchase metals. Therefore, our primary suppliers of aluminum, carbon, stainless and alloy steel or other metals could curtail or discontinue their delivery of these metals to us in the quantities we need with little or no notice. Our ability to meet our customers’ needs and provide value-added inventory management services depends on our ability to maintain an uninterrupted supply of high-quality metal products from our suppliers. If our suppliers experience production problems, lack of capacity or transportation disruptions, the lead times for receiving our supply of metal products could be extended and the cost of our inventory may increase. If, in the future, we are unable to obtain sufficient amounts of the necessary metals at competitive prices and on a timely basis from our customary suppliers, we may not be able to obtain these metals from acceptable alternative sources at competitive prices to meet our delivery schedules. Even if we do find acceptable alternative suppliers, the process of locating and securing these alternatives may be disruptive to our business, which could have an adverse impact on our ability to meet our customers’ needs and reduce our profitability and cash flows. In addition, if a significant domestic supply source is discontinued and we cannot find

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acceptable domestic alternatives, we may need to find foreign sources of supply. Using foreign sources of supply could result in longer lead times, increased price volatility, less favorable payment terms, increased exposure to foreign currency movements and certain tariffs and duties and require greater levels of working capital. Alternative sources of supply may not maintain the quality standards that are in place with our current suppliers that could impact our ability to provide the same quality of products to our customers that we have provided in the past, which could cause our customers to move their business to our competitors or to file claims against us, and such claims may be more difficult to pass through to foreign suppliers.

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There has been significant consolidation at the metal producer level both globally and within the U.S. This consolidation has reduced the number of suppliers available to us, which may limit our ability to obtain the necessary metals to service our customers. The number of available suppliers may be further reduced if the general economy enters into another recession. Lower metal prices and lower demand levels may cause certain mills to reduce their production capacity; and, in that case, the mill may operate at a loss, which could cause one or more mills to discontinue operations if the losses continue over an extended period of time or if the mill cannot obtain the necessary financing to fund its operating costs.

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We rely upon our suppliers as to the specifications of the metals we purchase from them.

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We rely on mill certifications that attest to the physical and chemical specifications of the metal received from our suppliers for resale and generally, consistent with industry practice, we do not undertake independent testing of such metals unless independent tests are required by customers. We rely on customers to notify us of any metal that does not conform to the specifications certified by the supplying mill. Although our primary sources of products have been domestic mills, we have and will continue to purchase product from foreign suppliers when we believe it is appropriate. In the event that metal purchased from domestic suppliers is deemed to not meet quality specifications as set forth in the mill certifications or customer specifications, we generally have recourse against these suppliers for both the cost of the products purchased and possible claims from our customers. However, such recourse will not compensate us for the damage to our reputation that may arise from substandard products and possible losses of customers. Moreover, there is a greater level of risk that similar recourse will not be available to us in the event of claims by our customers related to products from foreign suppliers that do not meet the specifications set forth in the mill certifications. In such circumstances, we may be at greater risk of loss for claims for which we do not carry, or carry insufficient, insurance.

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Climate change might adversely impact our supply chain or our operations.

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Concern about climate change might result in new legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of climate change. While we believe our operations do not emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases, legal or regulatory changes related to climate change may result in higher prices for metal, higher prices for utilities required to run our facilities, higher fuel costs for us and our suppliers, increased compliance costs and other adverse impacts. To the extent that new legislation or regulations increase our costs, we may not be able to fully pass these costs on to our customers without a resulting decline in sales and adverse impact to our profits.

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Changing market dynamics, global policy developments, and the increasing frequency and impact of extreme weather events on critical infrastructure in the U.S. and elsewhere have the potential to disrupt our business, the business of our third-party suppliers, and the business of our customers, and may cause us to experience higher attrition, losses and additional costs to maintain or resume operations.

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There is also increased focus by governmental and non-governmental entities on sustainability matters. Any perception that we have failed to act responsibly regarding climate change could result in negative publicity and adversely affect our business and reputation.

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There also has been increased stakeholder focus, including by U.S. and foreign governmental authorities, investors, customers, media and nongovernmental organizations, on environmental sustainability matters, such as climate change, the reduction of greenhouse gases and water consumption. Legislative, regulatory or other efforts to combat climate change or other environmental concerns could result in future increases in taxes, restrictions on or increases in the costs of supplies, transportation and utilities, any of which could increase our operating costs, and necessitate future investments in facilities

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and equipment. Further, our customers we serve may impose emissions reduction or other environmental standards and requirements. As a result, we may experience increased compliance burdens and the sourcing of our products may be adversely affected. These risks also include the increased pressure to make commitments, set targets, or establish additional goals to take actions to meet them, which could expose us to market, operational, execution and reputational costs or risks.

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Developing and acting on initiatives within the scope of social and environmental sustainability, and collecting, measuring and reporting environmental sustainability-related information and metrics can be costly, difficult and time consuming and is subject to evolving reporting standards. Further, statements about our social and environmental sustainability-related initiatives and goals, and progress against those goals, may be based on standards for measuring progress that are still developing, internal controls and processes that continue to evolve, and assumptions that are subject to change in the future. If our social and environmental sustainability-related data, processes and reporting are incomplete or inaccurate, or if we fail to achieve progress with respect to our goals within the scope of social and environmental sustainability on a timely basis, or at all, our reputation, business, financial performance and growth could be adversely affected.

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We face increased competition from alternative materials and risks concerning innovation, new technologies, products and increasing customer requirements.

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As a result of increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, designers, engineers and industrial manufacturers, especially those in the automotive industry, are increasing their use of lighter weight and alternative materials, such as composites, plastics, glass and carbon fiber. In addition, higher sustained market prices of metal products could cause new alternative material producers to enter the market. New or increased use of such materials could reduce the demand for metal products, which may reduce our profitability and cash flow.

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If metals prices increase compared to certain substitute materials, the demand for our products could be negatively impacted, which could have an adverse effect on our financial results.  

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In certain applications, metal products compete with other materials, such as composites, glass, carbon fiber, wood and plastic. Prices of all of these materials fluctuate widely, and differences between the prices of these materials and the price of metal products may adversely affect demand for our products and/or encourage material substitution, which could adversely affect the prices of and demand for metal products. The higher cost of metal relative to certain other materials may make material substitution more attractive for certain uses.

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Our insurance coverage, customer indemnifications or other liability protections may be unavailable or inadequate to cover all of our significant risks or our insurers may deny coverage of or be unable to pay for material losses we incur, which could adversely affect our profitability and overall financial position.

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We strive to obtain insurance agreements from financially solid, highly rated counterparties in established markets to cover significant risks and liabilities. Not every risk or liability can be insured, and for risks that are insurable, the policy limits and terms of coverage reasonably obtainable in the market may not be sufficient to cover all actual losses or liabilities incurred. Even if insurance coverage is available, we may not be able to obtain it at a price or on terms acceptable to us. Disputes with insurance carriers, including over policy terms, reservation of rights, the applicability of coverage (including exclusions), compliance with provisions (including notice) and/or the insolvency of one or more of our insurers may significantly affect the amount or timing of recovery.

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In some circumstances we may be entitled to certain legal protections or indemnifications from our customers through contractual provisions, laws, regulations or otherwise. However, these protections are not always available, are typically subject to certain terms or limitations, including the availability of funds, and may not be sufficient to cover all losses or liabilities incurred.

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If insurance coverage, customer indemnifications and/or other legal protections are not available or are not sufficient to cover our risks or losses, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

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An increase in delinquencies could adversely affect our results.

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Inherent in the operation of our business is the credit risk associated with our customers. The creditworthiness of each customer and the rate of delinquencies are directly impacted by several factors, including relevant industry and economic conditions, the availability of capital, the experience and expertise of the customer’s management team, commodity prices and political events. Any increase in delinquencies and credit losses on customer obligations could have a material adverse effect on our earnings and cash flows. In addition, although we evaluate and adjust allowances for credit losses related to past due and non-performing receivables on a regular basis, adverse economic conditions or other factors that might cause deterioration of the financial health of our customers could change the timing and level of payments received and thus necessitate an increase in our estimated losses, which could also have a material adverse effect on our earnings and cash flows.

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If we do not successfully implement our growth strategy, our ability to grow our business could be impaired.

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We may not be able to identify suitable acquisition candidates or successfully complete any acquisitions or integrate any other businesses into our operations. If we cannot identify suitable acquisition candidates or are otherwise unable to complete acquisitions, we may not be able to continue to grow our business as expected and, if we cannot successfully integrate recently acquired businesses, we may incur increased or redundant expenses. Moreover, any additional indebtedness we incur to pay for these acquisitions could adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition.

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We have invested a significant amount of capital in new locations and new processing capabilities. We may not be able to identify sufficient opportunities for internal growth to be able to sustain growth at similar levels. In addition, we may not realize the expected returns from these investments.

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Acquisitions present many risks, and we may not realize the financial and strategic goals that were contemplated at the time of each transaction.

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Since our initial public offering in September 1994, we have successfully purchased 71 businesses. We continue to evaluate acquisition opportunities and expect to continue to grow our business through acquisitions in the future. Risks we may encounter in acquisitions include:

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These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, particularly in the case of a larger acquisition or the completion of a number of acquisitions in any short period of time.

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In addition, most of the acquisition agreements we have entered into require the former owners to indemnify us against certain liabilities related to the operation of those companies before we acquired them. In most of these agreements, however, the liability of the former owners is limited and certain former owners may be unable to meet their indemnification responsibilities. Similarly, the purchasers of our non-core businesses may from time to time agree to indemnify us for operations of such businesses after the closing. We cannot be assured that any of these indemnification provisions will fully protect us, and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities that adversely affect our consolidated results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

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We are a decentralized company, which presents certain risks.

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With a diverse geographic footprint in both North America and internationally, we believe our decentralized structure has catalyzed our growth and enabled us to remain responsive to opportunities and to our customers’ needs by leaving significant control and decision-making authority and accountability in the hands of local management. Because we are decentralized, we may be slower to detect compliance-related problems (e.g., a rogue employee undertaking activities that are prohibited by applicable law or by our internal policies) and “company-wide” business initiatives, such as the integration of disparate information technology systems, are often more challenging and costly to implement than they would be in a more centralized environment. Depending on the nature of the problem or initiative in question, such failure could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

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We are subject to various environmental, employee safety and health, and customs and export laws and regulations, which could subject us to significant liabilities and compliance expenditures.

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We are subject to foreign, federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations concerning air emissions, wastewater discharges, underground storage tanks and solid and hazardous waste disposal at or from our facilities. Our operations are also subject to various employee safety and health laws and regulations, including those concerning occupational injury and illness, employee exposure to hazardous materials and employee complaints. We are also subject to customs and export laws and regulations for international shipment of our products. Environmental, employee safety and health, and customs and export laws and regulations are comprehensive, complex and frequently changing. Some of these laws and regulations are subject to varying and conflicting interpretations. We are subject from time to time to administrative and/or judicial proceedings or investigations brought by private parties or governmental agencies with respect to environmental matters, employee safety and health issues or customs and export issues. Proceedings and investigations with respect to environmental matters, any employee safety and health issues or customs and export issues could result in substantial costs to us, divert our management’s attention and result in significant liabilities, fines or the suspension or interruption of our service center activities. Some of our current properties are located in industrial areas with histories of heavy industrial use. The location of these properties may require us to incur environmental expenditures and to establish accruals for environmental liabilities that arise from causes other than our operations. In addition, we are currently remediating contamination in connection with a certain property related to activities at former manufacturing operations of a subsidiary we acquired. Future events, such as changes in existing laws and regulations or their enforcement, new laws and regulations or the discovery of conditions not currently known to us, could result in material environmental or export compliance or remedial liabilities and costs, constrain our operations or make such operations more costly.

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We operate internationally and are subject to exchange rate fluctuations, exchange controls, political risks and other risks relating to international operations.

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Six percent of our 2022 consolidated net sales were from operations outside the U.S., subjecting us to the risks of doing business on a global level. These risks include fluctuations in currency exchange rates, economic instability and disruptions, restrictions on the transfer of funds and the imposition of duties and tariffs. Additional risks from our multinational business include transportation delays and interruptions, war, terrorist activities, epidemics, pandemics, political instability, import and export controls, local regulation, changes in governmental policies, inflation, labor unrest and current and changing regulatory environments. International political and military conflict, such as the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, or increasing tensions between Taiwan and China, could materially adversely affect the global economy. In addition, government policies on international trade and investment such as import quotas, tariffs, and capital controls, whether adopted by individual governments or addressed by regional trade blocs, can affect the demand for our customers’ products and services. The implementation of more restrictive trade policies, such as higher tariffs or new barriers to entry, in countries in which our customers sell large quantities of products and services could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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Our operating results could be negatively affected by the global laws, rules and regulations, as well as political environments in the jurisdictions in which we operate. For example, we are subject to the FCPA, and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act 2010, which generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from corruptly paying, offering to pay, or authorizing the payment of money, a gift, or anything of value, to a foreign official or foreign political party, for purposes of obtaining or retaining business. A company can be held liable under these anti-bribery laws not just for its own direct actions, but also for the actions of its foreign subsidiaries or other third parties, such as agents or distributors. In addition, we could be held liable for actions taken by employees or third parties on behalf of a company that we acquire. If we fail to comply with the requirements under these laws and other laws, we are subject to due to our international operations, we may face possible civil and/or criminal penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on our business or financial result

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We rely on information management systems and any damage, interruption or compromise of our information technology management systems, networks or data could disrupt and harm our business.

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We rely upon information technology systems and networks, some of which are managed by third parties, to process, transmit, and store electronic information in connection with the operation of our business. These systems and networks may include operational technology systems that we use to operate and manage our equipment and inventory.  Additionally, we collect and store data that is sensitive to our company, including proprietary business information and the personal information of our employees or others. Operating these information technology systems and networks and processing and maintaining this data, in a secure manner, is critical to our business operations and strategy. Our information management systems and the data contained therein are vulnerable, including interruption due to power loss, system and network failures, operator negligence and similar causes.

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In addition, our systems and data are susceptible to security incidents, such as viruses, malware, and other cybersecurity attacks. Cybersecurity attacks are increasing in frequency and sophistication. Cybersecurity attacks may range from random attempts to coordinated and targeted attacks, including sophisticated computer crime and advanced threats. These threats pose a risk to the security of our information technology systems and networks and the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data. We have experienced cybersecurity events such as viruses and attacks on our IT systems. To date, none of these events has had a material impact on our operations or financial results.

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Despite our efforts to protect our systems, networks and data, we cannot guarantee protection from all security incidents, including theft, misplaced or lost data, programming errors, or employee errors that could potentially lead to the compromise of such data, improper use of our systems, software solutions or networks, unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification or destruction of information, defective products, production downtimes and operational disruptions. Furthermore, data protection laws and regulations around the world often require “reasonable,” “appropriate” or “adequate” technical and organizational security measures, and the interpretation and application of those laws and regulations are often uncertain and evolving; there can be no assurance that our security measures will be deemed adequate, appropriate or reasonable by a regulator or court. Moreover, even security measures that are deemed appropriate, reasonable, and/or in accordance with applicable legal requirements may not be able to protect the information we maintain.

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Given the unpredictability of the timing, nature and scope of security incidents such as cybersecurity attacks or potential disruptions, we are subject to production downtimes, operational delays, other detrimental impacts on our operations or ability to provide products and services to our customers, the compromising, misappropriation, destruction or corruption of data, unauthorized access to or acquisition of data, other manipulation or improper use of our systems or networks, financial losses from remedial actions, loss of business or potential liability, and/or damage to our reputation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition. Any significant compromise of our information management systems and networks or data could impede or interrupt our business operations and may result in negative consequences including loss of revenue, fines, penalties, litigation, reputational damage, regulatory actions or increased regulatory scrutiny, inability to accurately and/or timely complete required filings with government entities including the SEC and the Internal Revenue Service, unavailability or disclosure of confidential information (including personal data), negative impact on our stock price, environmental damage, and personal injury or death. Furthermore, we may be required to expend significant attention and financial resources to protect against physical or security incidents that could result in the misappropriation of our information or the information of our employees and customers.

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While we have purchased cybersecurity insurance, there are no assurances that the coverage would be adequate in relation to any incurred losses. Moreover, as cyber-attacks increase in frequency and magnitude, we may be unable to obtain cybersecurity insurance in amounts and on terms we view as adequate for our operations.

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Our enterprise data practices, including the collection, use, sharing, and security of the personal identifiable information of our customers, employees, or suppliers are subject to increasingly complex, restrictive, and punitive regulations in all key market regions. 

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Various federal, state, and foreign laws and regulations as well as industry standards and contractual obligations govern the collection, use, retention, protection, disclosure, cross-border transfer, localization, sharing, and security of the data we receive from and about our customers, employees, suppliers, and other individuals. The regulatory environment for the collection and use of personal information for companies is evolving in the United States and internationally. The U.S. federal government, U.S. states, and foreign governments, including those in Europe, the United Kingdom, China, Singapore, South Korea, and elsewhere have enacted (or are considering) laws and regulations that may restrict our ability to collect, use, and disclose personal information and may increase or change our obligations with respect to storing or managing our employees’ personal information, as well as our customers’ or suppliers’ data, which may include individuals’ personal information.

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Under global data privacy and data protection regulations, the failure to maintain compliant data practices could result in consumer complaints, regulatory inquiry, civil or criminal penalties, litigation, legal liability, as well as brand impact or other harm to our business. In addition, increased consumer sensitivity to real or perceived failures in maintaining acceptable data practices could damage our reputation and deter current and potential users or customers from using our products and services. Because many of these laws are new, there is little clarity as to their interpretation, as well as a lack of precedent for the scope of enforcement. The cost of compliance with these laws and regulations will be high and is likely to increase in the future. For example, in Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation applies to all of our ongoing operations in the EU as well as some of our operations outside of the EU that involve the processing of EU personal data. This regulation imposes significant potential financial penalties for noncompliance, including fines of up to 4% of worldwide revenue. Other foreign, state and local jurisdictions have adopted and are considering adopting, laws and regulations imposing obligations regarding personal data. In some cases, these laws provide a private right of action that would allow customers to bring suit directly against us for mishandling their data or security incidents involving their personal information.

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Our financial results may be affected by various legal and regulatory proceedings, including those involving antitrust, tax, environmental, or other matters.

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We are subject to a variety of litigation and legal compliance risks. These risks include, among other things, possible liability relating to product liability, personal injuries, intellectual property rights, contract-related claims, government contracts, taxes, environmental matters and compliance with U.S. and foreign laws, including competition laws and laws governing improper business practices. We or one of our subsidiaries could be charged with wrongdoing as a result of such matters. If convicted or found liable, we could be subject to significant fines, penalties, repayments, or other damages (in certain cases, treble damages). As a global business, we are subject to complex laws and regulations in the U.S. and other countries in which we operate. Those laws and regulations may be interpreted in different ways. They may also change from time to time and so may their related interpretations. Changes in laws or regulations could result in higher expenses and payments, and uncertainty relating to laws or regulations may also affect how we conduct our operations and structure our investments and could limit our ability to enforce our rights.

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The volatility of the stock market could result in a material impairment of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets.

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We review the recoverability of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets annually or whenever significant events or changes in circumstances occur that might impair the recovery of recorded costs. Factors that may be considered a change in circumstances, indicating that the carrying value of our goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets may not be recoverable, include a decline in stock price and market capitalization, declines in the market conditions for our products, viability of end markets, loss of customers, reduced future cash flow estimates, and slower growth rates in our industry. For example, we recognized $137.5 million of impairment and restructuring charges in the first quarter of 2020 due to our reduced long-term outlook for our energy-related businesses related to declines in the energy (oil and natural gas) market. If prices for the products our customers sell fall substantially or remain low for a sustained period, we may be (i) unable to realize a profit from businesses that service such customers, (ii) required to record additional impairments, or (iii)

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required to suspend or reorganize operations that service such customers. An impairment charge, if incurred, could be material.

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Our business operations and financial performance could be adversely affected by changes in our relationship with our employees or changes to U.S. or foreign employment regulations.

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We had approximately 14,500 employees worldwide as of December 31, 2022. This means we have a significant exposure to changes in domestic and foreign laws governing our relationships with our employees, including wage and hour laws and regulations, fair labor standards, minimum wage requirements, overtime pay, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, citizenship requirements and payroll taxes, which likely would have a direct impact on our operating costs. A significant increase in minimum wage or overtime rates in jurisdictions where we have employees could have a significant impact on our operating costs and may require that we relocate those operations or take other steps to mitigate such increases, all of which may cause us to incur additional costs, expend resources responding to such increases and lower our profitability.

​

We face certain risks associated with potential labor disruptions.

​

Approximately 13% of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements and/or are represented by unions or workers’ councils. Approximately 500 employees are covered by 23 different collective bargaining agreements that expire in 2023. While we believe that our relations with our employees are generally good, we cannot provide assurances that we will be completely free of labor disruptions such as work stoppages, work slowdowns, union organizing campaigns, strikes, lockouts or that any existing labor disruption will be favorably resolved. We could incur additional costs and/or experience work stoppages that could adversely affect our business operations through a loss of revenue and strained relationships with customers.

​

Risks Related to our Indebtedness

​

Our indebtedness could impair our financial condition or cause a downgrade of our credit rating and reduce the funds available to us for other purposes and our failure to comply with the covenants contained in our debt instruments could result in an event of default that could adversely affect our operating results.

​

We have substantial debt service obligations. As of December 31, 2022, we had aggregate outstanding indebtedness of approximately $1.66 billion, which was reduced to $1.16 billion in January 2023 as a result of the redemption of $500.0 million of senior unsecured notes. This indebtedness could adversely affect us in the following ways:

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Our existing debt agreements contain financial and restrictive covenants that limit the total amount of debt that we may incur and may limit our ability to engage in other activities that we may believe are in our long-term best interests. Our failure to comply with these covenants may result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could accelerate the maturity of our indebtedness or prevent us from accessing additional funds under our revolving credit facility. If the maturity of our indebtedness is accelerated, we may not have sufficient cash resources to satisfy our debt obligations and we may not be able to continue our operations as planned. See discussion regarding our financial covenants in the

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“Liquidity and Capital Resources” section of Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

​

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow to meet our existing debt service obligations.

​

Our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations, available under our revolving credit facility or access the capital markets to make scheduled payments on our debt obligations will depend on our future financial performance, which will be affected by a range of economic, competitive and business factors, many of which are outside of our control. For example, we may not generate sufficient cash flow from our operations to repay amounts due on our debt securities when they mature in 2025, 2030 and 2036. If we do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations or have availability to borrow on our revolving credit facility to satisfy our debt obligations, we would expect to undertake alternative financing plans, such as refinancing or restructuring our debt, selling assets, reducing or delaying capital investments or seeking to raise additional capital. We may not be able to consummate any such transactions at all or on a timely basis or on terms, and for proceeds, that are acceptable to us. These transactions may not be permitted under the terms of our various debt instruments then in effect. Our inability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy our debt obligations or to timely refinance our obligations on acceptable terms could adversely affect our ability to serve our customers or we may not be able to continue our operations as planned.

​

We are permitted to incur more debt, which may intensify the risks associated with our current leverage, including the risk that we will be unable to service our debt or that our credit rating may be downgraded.

​

We may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. Although the terms governing our indebtedness contain restrictions on our ability to incur additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to numerous qualifications and exceptions, and the indebtedness we may incur in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. If we incur additional debt, the risks associated with our leverage, including the risk that we will be unable to service our debt or that we may be subject to a credit rating downgrade, may increase.

​

Our acquisition strategy and growth capital expenditures may require access to external capital, and limitations on our access to external financing sources could impair our ability to grow.

​

We may have to rely on external financing sources, including commercial borrowings and issuances of debt and equity securities, to fund our acquisitions and growth capital expenditures. Limitations on our access to external financing sources, whether due to tightened capital markets, more expensive capital or otherwise, could impair our ability to execute our growth strategy.

​

Because all of our available borrowing capacity on our revolving credit facility bears interest at rates that fluctuate with changes in certain prevailing short-term interest rates, if we increase our leverage in the future, we are vulnerable to increases in interest rates.

​

The available borrowing on our revolving credit facility bears interest at rates that fluctuate with changes in certain short-term prevailing interest rates, primarily based on the Secured Overnight Finance Rate for deposits of U.S. dollars (“SOFR”). SOFR is a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by Treasury securities. As of December 31, 2022, we had $1.49 billion available for borrowing on our revolving credit facility with interest on borrowings at variable rates based on SOFR following an amendment to our credit agreement in January 2023. We currently do not use derivative financial instruments to manage the potential impact of interest rate risk. Accordingly, our interest expense for any particular period will fluctuate based on SOFR and other variable interest rates if we borrow on our revolving credit facility.

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Item 1B.  Unresolved Staff Comments

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None.

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Item 2.  Properties

​

As of December 31, 2022, we operated a network of approximately 315 locations in 40 states and in 12 foreign countries. In the opinion of management, all of our facilities are in good or excellent condition and are adequate for our existing operations. These facilities currently operate at about 50-60% of capacity based upon a 24-hour seven-day week,

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with each location averaging approximately two shifts operating at full capacity for a five-day work week. We have the ability to increase our operating capacity significantly without further investment in facilities or equipment if demand levels increase.

​

We leased 97 of our metals service center facilities as of December 31, 2022. In addition, we have ground leases and other leased spaces, such as depots, sales offices and storage, totaling 6.9 million square feet. Total square footage on all company-owned properties is approximately 29.6 million and represents approximately 81% of the total square footage of our operating facilities. Our leases of facilities and other spaces expire at various times through 2045 and certain ground leases expire at various times through 2068. The aggregate monthly rent amount for these properties is approximately $2.9 million.

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Item 3.  Legal Proceedings

​

The information contained under the captions “Legal Matters” and “Environmental Contingencies” in Note 16—“Commitments and Contingencies” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” is incorporated herein by reference.

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Item 4.  Mine Safety Disclosures

​

Not applicable.

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PART II

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Item 5.  Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

​

Our common stock is owned by 171 stockholders of record as of February 24, 2023. Our common stock has traded for the past 29 years on the NYSE under the symbol “RS” and was first traded September 16, 1994. Our stockholders of record exclude those stockholders whose shares are held for them in street name through banks, brokers or other nominee accounts.

​

We have paid quarterly cash dividends on our common stock for 63 consecutive years and have never reduced or suspended our regular quarterly dividend. In February 2023, our Board of Directors increased the regular quarterly dividend amount 14.3% to $1.00 per share from $0.875 per share. This recent increase is the 30^th increase in our regular quarterly dividend rate since our IPO in 1994. Further increases in the quarterly dividend rate will be evaluated by the Board based on conditions then existing, including our earnings, cash flows, financial condition and capital requirements, or other factors the Board may deem relevant. We expect to continue to declare and pay dividends in the future, if earnings are available to pay dividends, but we also intend to continue to retain a portion of earnings for reinvestment in our operations and expansion of our businesses. We cannot assure you that any dividends will be paid in the future or that, if paid, the dividends will be at the same amount or frequency as paid in the past. Our payment of dividends in the future will depend on business conditions, our financial condition, earnings, liquidity and capital requirements and other factors.

​

On July 26, 2022, our Board of Directors amended our share repurchase program authorized on July 20, 2021 to increase the remaining repurchase authorization to $1.0 billion. The share repurchase program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific number of shares, does not have a specific expiration date and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. We repurchase shares of our common stock from time to time pursuant to a combination of one or more open market repurchases and transactions structured through investment banking institutions in reliance upon Rule 10b5-1 and/or Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act.

​

During 2022, we repurchased approximately 3.5 million shares of our common stock at an average cost of $178.81 per share, for a total of $630.3 million. As of December 31, 2022, we had remaining authorization under the plan to repurchase $680.7 million of our common shares.

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Our share repurchase activity during the three months ended December 31, 2022 was as follows:

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​

Information relating to compensation plans under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance will be in our definitive Proxy Statement for our 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 17, 2023 and is incorporated herein by reference.

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Stock Performance Graph

​

This graph is not deemed to be “filed” with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act and should not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any of our prior or subsequent filings under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act.

​

The following graph compares the performance of our common stock with that of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 and an industry peer group consisting of publicly-traded metals service center companies (the “industry peer group”) for the five-year period from December 31, 2017 through December 31, 2022. The graph assumes, in each case, that an initial investment of $100 is made at the beginning of the five-year period. The cumulative total return reflects market prices at the end of each year and the reinvestment of dividends. Since there is no nationally-recognized industry index consisting of metals service center companies to be used as a peer group index, Reliance constructed the industry peer group. As of December 31, 2022, the industry peer group consisted of Olympic Steel Inc., which has securities listed for trading on NASDAQ; Ryerson Holding Corporation and Worthington Industries, Inc., each of which has securities listed for trading on the NYSE; and Russel Metals Inc., which has securities listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The returns of each member of the industry peer group are weighted according to that member’s stock market capitalization.

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The stock price performance shown on the graph below is not necessarily indicative of future price performance.

​

Comparison of 5 Year Cumulative Total Return Among Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.,
the S&P 500 Index, the Russell 2000 Index and an Industry Peer Group

Copyright© 2023 Standard & Poor’s, a division of S&P Global. All rights reserved.
Copyright© 2023 Russell Investment Group. All rights reserved.

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Item 6.  [Reserved]

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Item 7.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

​

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with the other sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the consolidated financial statements and related notes contained in Item 8, and the discussion of cautionary statements and significant risks to the Company’s business under Item 1A “Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Overview

​

We again generated record financial performance in 2022 across nearly every key metric. Outstanding execution resulted in record profitability in the face of declining metals pricing throughout the second half of 2022 and supply chain disruptions on us, our customers and suppliers. We believe our record performance in 2022 demonstrated the resiliency of our business model during a year that included significant volatility and varying trends in metals pricing, but fundamentally strong demand in most of our end markets.

​

Key results in 2022:

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Our record net sales in 2022 were mainly the result of a record average selling price per ton sold of $3,073, up 18.5% from our previous record set last year, and a 1.8% increase in tons sold. However, unlike in 2021, during which metals pricing improved throughout the year, our average selling price per ton sold reached a quarterly record of $3,240 in the second quarter of 2022 and declined for the remainder of the year. We experienced healthy demand across a majority of our end markets, however our same-store tons sold decreased slightly from 2021. We believe that the continued, though diminishing, supply chain disruptions on our customers continue to constrain economic activity and negatively impact our tons sold.

​

Our record profitability in 2022 was the result of our ability to maintain a strong gross profit margin and exercise effective expense control in an environment of elevated metals pricing and healthy demand.

​

We believe our success in generating strong gross profit margins during periods of economic strength and weakness, and during increasing and declining metal pricing cycles is supported by our continued significant capital expenditure investments. See further discussion, below, under “Internal Growth Activities.”

​

In 2022, we generated over $2 billion of operating cash flow for the first time in our history as a result of record profitability and reduced working capital investment mainly as a result of the declining metals pricing trends in the second half of 2022. The strong cash flow generation enabled us to grow our business and provide additional returns to our stockholders. During 2022, we invested into our future growth with $341.8 million of capital expenditures and returned $847.4 million to our stockholders through record levels of cash dividends and share repurchases. We also increased our regular quarterly dividend rate by 14.3%, effective in the first quarter of 2023.

​

We believe our strong liquidity position that includes significant cash on hand, strong cash flow generation and $1.5 billion of availability under our revolving credit facility will support our continued disciplined use of capital as we maintain a flexible approach focused on growth, both organically and through acquisitions, and stockholder return activities.

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Effect of Demand and Pricing Changes on our Operating Results

​

Customer demand can have a significant impact on our results of operations. When volume increases, our revenue dollars generally increase, which contributes to increased gross profit dollars. Conversely, when volume declines, we typically produce fewer revenue dollars, which can reduce our gross profit dollars. Variable costs also increase with volume, primarily our warehouse, delivery, selling, general and administrative expenses. We can reduce certain variable expenses when volumes decline, but we cannot easily reduce our fixed costs.

​

Pricing for our products generally has a much more significant impact on our results of operations than customer demand levels. As discussed above, our record profitability in 2022 was primarily driven by record metals prices. Our revenues generally increase as a result of pricing increases as customer demand is not usually impacted by typical mill pricing increases. Our selling prices usually increase when the cost of the metals we purchase increase. We are typically able to pass higher prices on to our customers. If prices increase and we maintain the same gross profit percentage, we generate higher levels of gross profit and pretax income dollars for the same operational efforts. Conversely, if pricing declines, we will typically generate lower levels of gross profit and pretax income dollars. Because changes in metals pricing do not require us to adjust our expense structure other than for profit-based incentive compensation, the impact on our results of operations from changes in pricing is typically much greater than the effect of volume changes. For more information, see Item 1A. “Risk Factors” under the caption “The costs that we pay for metals fluctuate due to a number of factors beyond our control, and such fluctuations could adversely affect our operating results, particularly if we cannot pass on higher metal prices to our customers.”

​

In addition, when volume or pricing increases, our working capital (primarily accounts receivable and inventories less accounts payable) requirements typically increase, resulting in lower levels of cash flow from operations, which may also require us to increase our outstanding debt and incur higher interest expense. Conversely, when customer demand falls, our operations typically generate increased cash flow as our working capital needs decrease.

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Acquisitions

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2021 Acquisitions

​

In the fourth quarter of 2021, we acquired each of Merfish United, Inc., Admiral Metals Servicenter Company, Incorporated, Nu-Tech Precision Metals Inc. and Rotax Metals Inc. with cash on hand for a combined transaction value of $440.3 million. Included in our net sales for the year ended December 31, 2022 were combined net sales of $863.0 million from our 2021 acquisitions.

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Internal Growth Activities

​

We continued to maintain our focus on internal growth by building new facilities, expanding existing facilities, replacing leased facilities with those we own and adding to our processing capabilities, upgrading processing equipment, improving the safety and energy efficiency of our operations and enhancing the working environments of our employees. Our capital expenditure budgets have been at historically high levels in recent years. Our 2023 capital expenditure budget, is $500 million, the highest in our history.

​

We have made significant capital expenditure investments totaling over $1.7 billion over the past eight years. These significant investments have expanded our value-added processing capabilities that our managers in the field have successfully leveraged to increase the percentage of our orders with value-added processing, which has significantly contributed to increased gross profit margins in recent years. In 2022 and 2021, we performed value-added processing on about 50% of the orders we shipped, significantly higher than our historical range of 40% to 45%, with a gross profit margin of 30.8% in 2022 that was approximately 400 basis points higher than our historical gross profit margin range of 25% to 27% that existed prior to our undertaking of these significant capital expenditure investments.

​

We believe that our ability to make significant investments in processing equipment and facilities provides a competitive advantage for us, as we can provide our customers with a higher quality product and expand our services to

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them. We believe many metals service center company competitors do not have the ability to expand their processing services in response to their customer’ needs as quickly and at the same scale as Reliance.

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Results of Operations

​

The following sets forth certain income statement data for each of the last three years ended December 31, 2022 (dollars are shown in millions and certain percentages may not calculate due to rounding):

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Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021

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Net Sales

​

​

Our tons sold and average selling price per ton sold exclude our tons toll processed. Our average selling price per ton sold includes intercompany transactions that are eliminated from our consolidated net sales. Same-store amounts exclude the results of our 2021 acquisitions.

​

Our net sales and average selling price per ton sold in 2022 were the highest in our history, surpassing our previous records set in 2021. Our sales in 2022 were supported by ongoing healthy demand in most of the end markets we serve and elevated metals pricing. However, we believe our tons sold continue to be limited by supply chain disruptions on our customers that constrained economic activity.

​

Since we primarily purchase and sell our inventories in the spot market, our average selling prices generally fluctuate similarly as the changes in the costs of the various metals we purchase. Our average selling price per ton sold in 2022 was significantly higher than in 2021, mainly due to significant mill price increases for our major product categories in the first half of 2022 that offset declining metal prices in the second half of 2022.

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The mix of products sold can also have an impact on our overall average selling price per ton sold. Year-over-year changes in selling prices of our major commodity products and related mix of gross sales dollars are presented below:

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Cost of Sales and Gross Profit

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We generated record gross profit in 2022 mainly as a result of a significant increase in our average selling price per ton sold that outpaced the increase in average cost per ton sold.

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In addition, non-cash adjustments to our LIFO method inventory valuation reserve, which are included in cost of sales and, in effect, reflects cost of sales at current replacement costs, resulted in a credit, or an increase to gross profit, of $76.6 million in 2022 compared to a charge, or a decrease to gross profit, of $704.8 million in 2021. Our 2022 and 2021 gross profit was further reduced by $8.1 million and $13.7 million, respectively, of non-recurring amortization of inventory step-up to fair value adjustments related to our 2021 acquisitions. As of December 31, 2022, the LIFO method inventory valuation reserve on our balance sheet was $743.8 million.

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Our gross profit margin in 2022 was strong and higher than pre-pandemic levels, but declined from our record level in 2021 mainly due to different product pricing trends during the respective periods. Our gross profit margin in 2021 benefited from rapid and significant increases in metals prices and limited metals supply throughout the year, while our gross profit margin in 2022 compressed as our average selling price per ton sold reached a peak in the second quarter of 2022 and declined throughout the remainder of the year.

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See “Net Sales” above for further discussion on product pricing trends.

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Expenses

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Same-store amounts exclude the results of our 2021 acquisitions.

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Our SG&A expense is made up largely of people-related compensation costs (approximately 60-65% historically), which change based on our headcount levels in response to demand levels and general inflation, and the level of incentive-based compensation that is primarily tied to first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) pretax income profitability at our operating locations and to a lesser extent our overall profitability for our executive officers and senior management.

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The increase in our same-store SG&A expense in 2022 compared to 2021 was mainly due to higher variable expenses associated with inflationary impacts on wage rates, fuel, freight and packaging costs, partially offset by lower incentive-based compensation as our FIFO pretax income declined 9.0% in 2022 compared to 2021. See “Cost of Sales and Gross Profit” above for discussion of our LIFO method inventory valuation reserve.

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Operating Income

​

​

The increase in our operating income in 2022 compared to 2021 was mainly due to record gross profit driven by a record average selling price per ton sold and fundamentally strong demand that offset a decline in our gross profit margin and inflationary increases in certain SG&A expenses.  

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Our operating income margin for 2022 was a record and increased from 2021 mainly due to better operating leverage relating to the significant increase in our net sales as our operating expenses as a percentage of sales decreased approximately 200 basis points, despite a significant increase in our SG&A expense, that offset the 110 basis point decline in our gross profit margin.

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See “Net Sales” above for discussion of trends in demand and product costs and “Expenses” for trends in our operating expenses.

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Income Tax Rate

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Our effective income tax rate in 2022 was 24.1%, compared to 24.7% in 2021. The decrease in our effective income tax rate was due to lower state income taxes as a result of changes in the allocation of our U.S. income to the states in which we operate and an increase in tax benefit realized from our stock-based compensation plans.

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The difference between our effective income tax rate and the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21.0% was mainly due to state income taxes and higher foreign income tax rates partially offset by the effects of company-owned life insurance policies. See Note 11—“Income Taxes” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for further information on the differences between our effective income tax rates and the U.S. federal statutory rate in 2022 and 2021.

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Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2020

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See discussion in the “Results of Operations” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources” section of Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.

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Financial Condition

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Operating Activities

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We generated record net cash provided by operations of $2.12 billion in 2022, compared to $799.4 million in 2021. Our record operating cash flow in 2022 was mainly due to a $426.8 million, or 30.1%, increase in net income and reduced working capital investment when compared with 2021. During 2021, significant and rapid increases in metals pricing and limited metals availability required a significantly higher investment in working capital than in 2022 during which our working capital needs peaked during the second quarter and as metals prices and our tons sold declined for the remainder of the year, we reduced our working capital levels and, as consequence, generated significant operating cash flow. To manage our working capital, we focus on our days sales outstanding and on our inventory turnover rate as receivables and inventory are the two most significant elements of our working capital. Our average days sales outstanding rate was 39.9 days in 2022 compared to 38.9 days in 2021. Our inventory turnover rate (based on tons) during 2022 was 4.4 times (or 2.7 months on hand), a decrease from 4.8 times (or 2.5 months on hand) in 2021.

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Income taxes paid were $692.4 million in 2022, a significant increase from $444.4 million in 2021, due to our significantly higher pretax income.

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Investing Activities

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Net cash used in investing activities of $348.5 million in 2022 compared to $652.3 million in 2021 was substantially comprised of reduced spending on acquisitions and lower proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment partially offset by increased capital expenditures. In 2022, we had no acquisition spending compared to $439.3 million spent in 2021. Capital expenditures were $341.8 million in 2022 compared to $236.6 million in 2021. The majority of our capital expenditures in 2022 and 2021 were related to growth initiatives.

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Financing Activities

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Net cash used in financing activities was $892.6 million in 2022 compared to $528.9 million in 2021, mainly due to increased share repurchases. In 2022, we spent $630.3 million to repurchase shares of our common stock compared to $323.5 million in 2021. Our other stockholder return activities in 2022 included an increase in our quarterly dividend rate with total cash dividends and dividend equivalents of $217.1 million compared to $177.0 million in 2021.

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We have paid regular quarterly dividends to our stockholders for 63 consecutive years and increased the quarterly dividend on our common stock 30 times since our IPO in 1994, with the most recent increase of 14.3% from $0.875 per share to $1.00 per share effective in the first quarter of 2023. We have never reduced or suspended our regular quarterly dividend.

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Share Repurchases

​

See Note 14—“Equity” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for information on our share repurchases.

​

On July 26, 2022, our Board of Directors amended our share repurchase program to increase the remaining repurchase authorization to $1.0 billion. As of December 31, 2022, we had remaining authorization under the plan to repurchase $680.7 million of our common shares. The share repurchase program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific number of shares, does not have a specific expiration date and may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

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During the last 5 years, we have repurchased approximately 16 million shares at an average cost of $114.38 per share, for a total of $1.83 billion, resulting in a 22% reduction in our common shares issued and outstanding.

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Purchase Obligations

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The Company had $217.7 million of operating lease obligations as of December 31, 2022 for processing and distribution facilities, equipment, trucks and trailers, ground leases and other leased spaces, such as depots, sales offices, storage and data centers. Our expected payments over the next 12 months under these operating leases are $59.1 million. See Note 10—“Leases” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for information regarding the maturities of our operating lease obligations.

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The Company has obligations pursuant to pension and postretirement benefit plans. A total of $17.1 million of net liabilities was recognized on the balance sheet at December 31, 2022 and the Company expects to make plan contributions and benefit payments totaling $0.8 million over the next 12 months. See Note 13—“Employee Benefits” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for information regarding our expected payments under these plans.

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Our capital expenditures have been at elevated levels in recent years and our 2023 capital expenditure budget is a record $500 million. As of December 31, 2022, we had entered into contracts related to capital expenditures in the amount of $133.2 million which is all expected to be paid over the next 12 months. Our actual capital expenditure spending over

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the next 12 months is ultimately dependent on market conditions, lead times and availability of property, plant and equipment when the capital project is initiated.

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We primarily purchase and sell in the spot market and consequently our purchase orders are based on our current needs and are typically fulfilled by our vendors within short time periods (lead times). In addition, some of our purchase orders represent authorizations to purchase rather than binding agreements. We do not have significant agreements for the purchase of goods specifying minimum quantities and set prices that exceed our expected requirements for three months. The total amount of commitments under long-term inventory purchase agreements is estimated at approximately $320.1 million, with amounts in 2023, 2024 and thereafter being $179.1 million, $44.9 million and $96.1 million, respectively.

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We have other contractual commitments under long-term agreements, generally for services, totaling $39.3 million at December 31, 2022, with amounts in 2023, 2024 and thereafter being $22.3 million, $12.2 million and $4.8 million, respectively.

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Debt

​

We have a $1.5 billion unsecured revolving credit facility with no outstanding borrowings at December 31, 2022 under our Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”). We also had an aggregate of $1.65 billion principal amount of senior unsecured note obligations with various maturities through 2036 issued under indentures as of December 31, 2022.

​

In January 2023, we redeemed the $500.0 million aggregate outstanding principal amount of our 4.50% senior notes due 2023 in full. We funded this redemption using cash on hand. See Note 9—“Debt” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" for further information on our amended credit agreement, debt obligations and indentures governing our debt securities.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

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We believe our primary sources of liquidity, including funds generated from operations, cash and cash equivalents and our $1.5 billion revolving credit facility, will be sufficient to satisfy our cash requirements and stockholder return activities over the next 12 months and beyond. As of December 31, 2022, we had $1.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents and our net debt-to-total capital ratio (net debt-to-total capital is calculated as carrying amount of debt, net of cash, divided by total Reliance stockholders’ equity plus carrying amount of debt, net of cash) was 6.3%, down from 18.1% as of December 31, 2021.

​

As of December 31, 2022, we had $908.5 million of debt obligations coming due before our $1.5 billion revolving credit facility expires on September 3, 2025; $500.0 million of these debt obligations were redeemed in January 2023.

​

We believe that we will continue to have sufficient liquidity to fund our future operating needs and to repay our debt obligations as they become due. In addition to funds generated from operations and nearly $1.5 billion available under our revolving credit facility, we expect to continue to be able to access the capital markets to raise funds, if desired. We believe our sources of liquidity will continue to be adequate to maintain operations, make necessary capital expenditures, finance strategic growth through acquisitions and internal initiatives, pay dividends and opportunistically repurchase shares. Additionally, we believe our investment grade credit ratings enhance our ability to effectively raise capital, if needed.

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Covenants

​

The Credit Agreement and indentures governing our debt securities include customary representations, warranties, covenants and events of default provisions. The covenants under the Credit agreement include, among other things, two financial maintenance covenants that require us to comply with a minimum interest coverage ratio and a maximum leverage ratio. Our interest coverage ratio for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2022 was 41.2 times compared to the debt covenant minimum requirement of 3.0 times (interest coverage ratio is calculated as earnings before interest and taxes (“EBIT”), as defined in the Credit Agreement, divided by interest expense). Our leverage ratio as of December 31, 2022, calculated in accordance with the terms of the Credit Agreement, was 17.3% compared to the debt covenant maximum

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amount of 60% (leverage ratio is calculated as total debt, inclusive of finance lease obligations and outstanding letters of credit, minus the lesser of cash held by our domestic subsidiaries and $200.0 million, divided by Reliance stockholders’ equity plus total debt).

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We were in compliance with all financial maintenance covenants in our Credit Agreement at December 31, 2022.

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Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

​

We have one operating segment and also one reporting unit for goodwill impairment purposes. There have been no changes in our reportable segments; we have one reportable segment – metals service centers.

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Goodwill, which represents the excess of cost over the fair value of net assets acquired, amounted to $2.11 billion at December 31, 2022, or approximately 20% of total assets and 30% of total equity. Additionally, other intangible assets, net amounted to $1.02 billion at December 31, 2022, or approximately 10% of total assets and 14% of total equity. Goodwill and other intangible assets deemed to have indefinite lives are not amortized but are subject to annual impairment tests and further evaluation when certain events occur. Other intangible assets with finite useful lives are amortized over their useful lives. We review the recoverability of our long-lived assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. Refer to Critical Accounting Estimates for further information regarding our 2021 and 2020 impairment charges and discussion regarding judgments involved in testing for recoverability of our goodwill and other intangible assets.

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Critical Accounting Estimates

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Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The Company’s significant accounting policies, including recently issued accounting pronouncements, are fully described in Note 1—“Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” When we prepare these consolidated financial statements, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Some of our accounting policies are critical due to the fact that they involve a significant level of estimation uncertainty and have had or are reasonably likely to have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operation. Our most critical accounting estimates include those related to the recoverability of goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets and long-lived assets. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for our judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

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We believe the following critical accounting estimates, as discussed with our Audit Committee, affect our more significant judgments and estimates used in preparing our consolidated financial statements. There have been no material changes made to the critical accounting estimates during the periods presented in the consolidated financial statements.

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Goodwill and Other Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets

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We test for impairment of goodwill and intangible assets deemed to have indefinite lives annually and, between annual tests, whenever significant events or changes occur based on an assessment of qualitative factors to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value is less than the carrying value. The qualitative factors we review include a decline in our stock price and market capitalization, a decline in the market conditions of our products and viability of end markets, and developments in our business and the overall economy. We make assumptions regarding estimated future cash flows and other factors to determine the fair value of the respective assets, including calculating the fair value of a reporting unit using the discounted cash flow method, as necessary. We perform the required annual goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment test as of November 1 of each year. No impairment of goodwill was determined to exist in 2022, 2021 or 2020. We recorded impairment losses on our intangible assets with indefinite lives in the amounts of $4.7 million and $67.8 million in 2021 and 2020, respectively. No impairment of intangible assets with indefinite lives was recognized in 2022. See

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Note 19—“Impairment and Restructuring Charges” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for further information on our impairment charges.

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Long-Lived Assets

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We periodically review the recoverability of our other long-lived assets, primarily property, plant and equipment and intangible assets subject to amortization. The evaluation is performed at the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows that are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets. An impairment loss may be recognized if the estimated undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the assets. We must make assumptions regarding estimated future cash flows and other factors to estimate the fair value of the respective assets to determine the amount of the impairment loss. If these estimates or their related assumptions change in the future, we may be required to record impairment charges. In 2020, we recorded impairment charges on intangible assets subject to amortization and property, plant and equipment of $30.7 million and $9.3 million, respectively. There were no impairments of long-lived assets recognized in 2022 and 2021. See Note 19—"Impairment and Restructuring Charges” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for further information on our impairment charges.

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Impairment tests inherently involve judgment as to assumptions about expected future cash flows and the impact of market conditions on those assumptions. Additionally, considerable declines in the market conditions for our products from current levels as well as in the price of our common stock could also significantly impact our impairment analyses. An impairment charge, if incurred, could be material.

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Item 7A.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

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In the ordinary course of business, we are exposed to various market risk factors, including changes in general economic conditions, domestic and foreign competition, foreign currency exchange rates, and metals pricing, demand and availability.

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Commodity price risk

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Metals prices are volatile due to, among other things, fluctuations in foreign and domestic production capacity, raw material availability, metals consumption, import levels into the U.S., global economic factors and foreign currency exchange rates. We do not currently use financial derivatives to hedge our exposure to metal price volatility. Decreases in metal prices could adversely affect our revenues, gross profit and net income. We primarily purchase and sell in the spot market and consequently are generally able to react quickly to changes in metals pricing. This strategy also limits our exposure to commodity prices to our inventories on hand. In an environment of increasing material costs our pricing usually increases as we try to maintain the same gross profit percentage and typically generate higher levels of gross profit and pretax income dollars for the same operational efforts. Conversely, if pricing declines, we will typically generate lower levels of gross profit and pretax income dollars. In periods where demand deteriorates rapidly and metal prices are declining significantly in a compressed period of time, a portion of our inventory on hand may be at higher costs than our selling prices, causing a significant adverse effect on our gross profit and pretax income margins. However, when prices stabilize and our inventories on hand reflect more current prices, our gross profit margins tend to return to more normalized levels.

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Foreign exchange rate risk

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Because sales to international customers (based on the shipping destination) were approximately 8% of our consolidated 2022 net sales, we are exposed to foreign currency exchange gains and losses. The currency effects of translating the financial statements of our foreign subsidiaries, which operate in local currency environments, are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss and do not impact earnings unless there is a liquidation or sale of those foreign subsidiaries. We do not currently hedge our net investments in foreign subsidiaries due to the long-term nature of those investments.

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Total foreign currency transaction losses included in our 2022, 2021, and 2020 earnings were $6.2 million, $4.0 million and $2.3 million, respectively.

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Interest rate risk

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We are exposed to market risk related to our fixed-rate and variable-rate long-term debt. Market risk is the potential loss arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices, such as interest rates. Changes in interest rates may affect the market value of our fixed-rate debt. Under our current policies, we do not use interest rate derivative instruments to manage exposure to interest rate changes and we do not currently anticipate repayment of our fixed-rate long-term debt prior to scheduled maturities other than our redemption of $500.0 million of senior notes in January 2023.

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Market risk related to our variable-rate debt is estimated as the potential decrease in pretax earnings resulting from an increase in interest rates. As of December 31, 2022, we had an insignificant amount of variable interest rate debt outstanding. However, as of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $1.5 billion available for borrowing on our revolving credit facility at variable interest rates. Consequently, any future borrowings on our revolving credit facility will increase market risk resulting from potential interest rate volatility.

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Item 8.  Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

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RELIANCE STEEL & ALUMINUM CO.

AUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

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All other schedules are omitted because either they are not applicable, not required or the information required is included in the Consolidated Financial Statements, including the notes thereto.

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.:

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2022, and the related notes and financial statement schedule II of valuation and qualifying accounts (collectively, the consolidated financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2022, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, and our report dated February 28, 2023 expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

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Critical Audit Matter

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of a critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

Recoverability of Long-Lived Assets and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets

As discussed in Notes 1 and 7 to the consolidated financial statements, property and equipment, net and intangible assets, net as of December 31, 2022 were $1,974.6 million and $1,019.6 million, respectively. The Company reviews the recoverability of property and equipment, net and amortizable intangible assets (long-lived assets) whenever significant events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. The evaluation is performed at the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows that are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets (asset groups). The Company tests the recoverability of indefinite-lived intangible assets annually or whenever significant events or changes in circumstances occur based on an analysis of qualitative factors to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value is less than the carrying value.

We identified the assessment of the recoverability of long-lived assets and indefinite-lived intangible assets as a critical audit matter. Evaluating the Company’s identification of significant events or changes in circumstances, which indicate these assets may not be recoverable, involved subjective auditor judgment. The judgments included consideration of factors that are external and internal to the Company, such as declines in the market for the Company’s products or plans to close a physical location.

The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter. We evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of certain internal controls related to the identification of significant events or changes in circumstances indicating the long-lived and indefinite-lived intangible assets may not be recoverable. We evaluated the Company’s identification of significant events or changes in circumstances that have occurred indicating the underlying long-lived assets and indefinite-lived intangible assets may not be recoverable by performing an independent assessment. The independent assessment included analyzing the historical operating performance of the asset groups and evaluating other events or changes in circumstances based on our knowledge of the Company and experience of the industry in which it operates. This included reading and evaluating industry articles, public information related to competitor activity, Company press releases and board of director minutes.

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We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2008.

Los Angeles, California

February 28, 2023

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RELIANCE STEEL & ALUMINUM CO.

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CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

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(in millions, except number of shares which are reflected in thousands and par value)

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