Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. reported strong first quarter earnings and sales Thursday thanks to strong pricing that boosted margins. But it lowered guidance for the second quarter.

For the quarter ended March 31, Reliance reported net income of $107 million ($1.46 per share) down from $112 million (also $1.46 per share). Profit was hit by a one-time pretax expense of $17.5 million (-15 cents per share). That made adjusted earnings per share $1.61 in the latest quarter which beat Wall Street’s expectations of $1.38, according to Thomson Financial.

Sales for the Los Angeles-based steel and aluminum distributor hit a record of $1.91 billion, up 3.6 percent from the same period a year earlier. Sales also beat analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion.

“Pricing for our products was strong with significant increases in carbon steel, leading to improved gross profit margins,” Chief Executive David Hannah said in a statement. “Demand in the markets that we serve remained fairly healthy, especially in the non-residential construction, energy, oil and gas, and aerospace industries.”

However, Reliance forecast second-quarter profit between $1.50 and $1.60 per share below Wall Street estimates of $1.66, according to Thomson Financial.

“Demand remains more difficult to predict,” Hannah said. “We believe our customers will continue to be cautious in their buying, especially given the uncertainty in many areas of the economy and the mostly negative views of business activity portrayed by the media. Therefore we do not expect any significant changes in demand in any of our market segments.”

Shares in Reliance were down 1.8 percent to $63.10 in early trading Thursday.