Specialty metals and plastics distribution company A.M. Castle & Co. posted a quarterly profit, below market estimates, on higher cost of materials and said it expects to report a small net loss for the fourth quarter.

“The fourth quarter is traditionally our slowest quarter due to fewer shipping days and customer shutdowns,” Chief Executive Michael Goldberg said in a statement.

For the latest third quarter, the company earned of $72,000, or breakeven per share, compared with a loss of $6.3 million, or 28 cents a share, a year ago

Net sales rose 33 percent to $244.9 million.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 4 cents a share, on revenue of $243.1 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Cost of materials rose 32 percent to $181.9 million in the quarter.

Shares of the Franklin Park, Illinois-based company closed at $15.5 on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. They have gained about 3 percent in value since the company posted a surprise second-quarter profit in late July.