Sims reports earnings drop in 2025 fiscal year

Sims Ltd., an Australia-based company with global metals and electronics recycling operations, has reported a 10.5 percent decline in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in its most recently completed fiscal year compared with the previous one.

The company, whose 2025 fiscal year ran from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, says its global sales revenue rose by 4.1 percent in the recently completed time frame compared with its 2024 fiscal year.

Sims and its CEO Stephen Mikkelsen say the company was pleased with the company’s metals trading margin fiscal year 2025, and with results from its North American operations. Harming its profitability, however, was the winding down of the former Sims Resource Renewal (SRR) business unit.

“Statutory EBIT was AU$106.3 ($68.5 million) million lower than underlying EBIT, after including the impact of the closure of SRR, asset impairments and redundancy and restructuring costs,” states the firm.

 “Our earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) result of AU$174.9 million ($112.7 million), which included a 10.4 percent increase in Metal trading margin, demonstrated the strength of our strategy and our ability to manage through market volatility,” says Sims Group CEO and Managing Director Mikkelsen.

“Ferrous market conditions were particularly difficult, with global oversupply of finished and semi-finished steel, soft macroeconomic conditions, trade policy uncertainty and tight scrap supply placing pressure on the sector,” adds Mikkelsen.

“Despite these headwinds, our disciplined and agile commercial execution, supported by a clear strategy and some favorable structural drivers including strong nonferrous markets, good United States steel spreads, and growing electric arc furnace (EAF) demand, provided a degree of stability,” continues the CEO.

Focusing on the U.S., Mikkelsen comments, “Once again, we saw the strength of our diversified but focused portfolio of businesses. In the U.S., North America Metal (NAM) and our joint venture SA Recycling (SAR) provide a well-balanced footprint across primary regions. NAM delivered strong margin growth, supported by greater market optionality, and SAR continued to develop its market reach through targeted acquisitions.”

In presentation slides accompany its results, Sims lists its own direct acquisitions in the U.S. (including of Atlantic Recycling Group, Baltimore Scrap, Alumisource and Northeast Metal Traders) as having been responsible for bringing in some 650,000 metric tons of material in fiscal year 2025.

Mikkelsen characterizes the firm’s Australia and New Zealand Metal business as having successfully navigated challenging market conditions and says of electronics recycling and ITAD business unit Sims Lifecycle Services that it “again outperformed, driven by strong execution and its well positioned exposure to accelerating artificial intelligence-related demand.”

Regarding the fiscal year now underway, Sims says its metals recycling “long-term fundamentals remain strong, with EAF capacity and scrap demand continuing to grow, underpinned by decarbonization, government policies supporting onshoring [and] general market support.”

The recycling company says sustained strength in nonferrous recycled metals demand is expected, and it sees tariff support as bolstering U.S. demand for recycled steel.

“Chinese exports remain the greatest headwind, with record-high Chinese steel exports expected to keep ferrous prices muted in markets outside the U.S.,” concludes Sims, saying that circumstance “will continue to challenge NAM and SAR ferrous export sales, as well as ANZ’s domestic and export volumes. While pricing pressure is likely to persist through fiscal year 2026, further significant declines from fiscal year 2025 levels appear limited as prices find their floor.”