Metals recycler Metal Management Inc. said Tuesday its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 1.5 percent, as a higher costs and lower income from joint ventures nearly offset a sales hike.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Metal Management earned $15.6 million, or 60 cents per share, compared with $15.4 million, or 60 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2005.

Revenue rose 33 percent to $524 million from $395.1 million, while income from joint ventures dropped to $357,000 from $3 million in the year-ago period.

Cost of sales, excluding depreciation, rose to $471.7 million from $346 million in the 2005 period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a profit of 74 cents per share on $469.5 million in revenue.

Company officials attributed the results to weak U.S. iron market demand, along with slower domestic stainless steel mill consumption and declining copper prices.