Insteel Industries, Inc., the largest manufacturer of steel wire reinforcing products for concrete construction application in the U.S., reported fiscal fourth-quarter results on Thursday that topped expectations.

For the fourth quarter, Insteel delivered net earnings of $7.4 million, or 38 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $1.8 million, or 9 cents per share, in the same quarter a year prior. Analysts expected earnings of 24 cents per share in the quarter.

The steel wire manufacturer posted net sales of $138.2 million, up 21.9 percent from the $138.2 reported a year ago. Analysts projected net sales of $114.32 million.

Insteel said it “benefitted from robust demand” across its construction markets and a “rebound in spreads between selling prices and raw material costs from depressed levels a year ago.” Shipments for the fourth quarter were the highest recorded in company history.

“Despite the economic uncertainties, we remain optimistic about our key initiatives, which should benefit our fiscal 2021 performance. We are pleased with our performance in the engineered structural mesh market during 2020 and expect further growth in 2021,” CEO H.O. Woltz III said in the release.

Woltz added: “The latest forecasts for non-residential construction indicate a bottoming or modest improvement, but the sustainability of those trends is not yet clear. Public construction has not experienced the level of weakness forecast at the onset of the pandemic, although the impact varies widely from state to state. Federal action on new transportation spending or proposed state budget relief has the potential to be a positive catalyst if implemented by the U.S. Congress.”

Insteel’s shares were last trading up 1.44 percent, or 31 cents, near $21.65 on Friday.