Columbus, Ohio-based manufacturing and distribution company Worthington Industries, Inc. reported Thursday net sales of $622.6 million and net earnings of $31.8 million for its fiscal 2013 Q2 ended November 30, 2012. In Q2 2012 of the prior year, Worthington reported net sales of $565.7 million and net earnings of $12.0 million.

"We had strong performances from most of our businesses in the second quarter, with volume increases in Pressure Cylinders, and a steady performance from Steel Processing, offset by softness in Engineered Cabs," said John McConnell, Chairman and CEO. "Our year-over-year performance improved despite declining steel prices, thanks to contributions from recent acquisitions. We are very pleased with the results of our latest acquisition, Westerman, whose products include tanks for use in on-site production in shale drilling activity."

Net sales for Q2 were $622.6 million, up 10 percent from the comparable quarter in the prior year, when net sales were $565.7 million. An increase in volume was partially offset by lower average selling prices, primarily in Steel Processing, which were affected by the declining market price of steel. Most of the volume increase resulted from the acquisition of Angus Industries, reported under the Engineered Cabs segment, and two acquisitions in Pressure Cylinders.

Steel Processing's net sales of $339.3 million were down 9 percent, or $34.1 million, from the prior year quarter, as lower average selling prices and a decrease in volumes negatively impacted net sales by $29.2 million and $4.9 million, respectively. The decline in volumes was driven by the wind down of unprofitable customer accounts from the MISA Metals acquisition in fiscal 2012. The mix of direct versus toll tons processed was 55 percent to 45 percent in Q2 2013, compared with a 51 percent to 49 percent mix in the comparable quarter of the prior year.

Pressure Cylinders' net sales of $207.5 million were up 17 percent from the comparable prior year quarter driven almost entirely by the impact of acquisitions. Engineered Cabs, consisting of the operations of Angus Industries Inc. acquired on December 29, 2011, generated net sales of $57.8 million in the current quarter.