Our teams executed very well in the quarter, and the result was a strong financial performance.
For Q3, we reported earnings of $1.11 per share versus $1.27 in the prior-year quarter.
Excluding a small restructuring and impairment charge, we generated $1.13 in the quarter versus $1.36 in the prior year, after adjusting for restructuring and a small gain on our investment in Nikola.
In the quarter, we had inventory holding losses estimated to be $25 million or $0.37 per share.
In the prior-year quarter, we had inventory hoarding gains of $31 million or $0.44 per share.
Consolidated net sales in the quarter of $1.4 billion were up significantly compared to $759 million in Q3 of last year.
Gross profit for the quarter decreased to $143 million from $164 million in the prior-year quarter, and gross margin was 10.4% versus 21.6%, primarily due to the swing from inventory holding gains to losses, which were partially offset by increases in both consumer, and building products.
Adjusted EBIT in Q3 was $112 million, down slightly from $126 million in Q3 of last year, and our trailing 12 months adjusted EBIT is now $662 million.
And I spend a few minutes on each of the businesses, In steel processing, net sales of $1.1 billion more than doubled from $504 million in Q3 of last year, are mainly due to the average selling prices being higher, and the inclusion of both Tempel Steel and Shiloh BlankLight business.
Total ship tons were down 2% compared to last year's third quarter despite the recent acquisitions which contributed 80,000 tons during the quarter.
Excluding the impact of acquisitions, total ship tons were down 9% year over year.
Direct tons in Q3 were 51% in mix compared to 48% in the prior year.
And market demand is good, and the war in Ukraine, and its impacts on the steel supply chain pricing, and end-market demand are difficult to predict.
In Q3, steel generated an adjusted EBIT of $7 million compared to $62 million last year.
Large year-over-year decrease was driven by the inventory holding losses I mentioned earlier, estimated to be $25 million in the quarter compared to inventory holding gains of $31 million last year.
An unfavorable swing of $56 million.
Inventory holding losses for the current quarter included a $16 million charge to write inventory down to net realizable value, and to the expected future decline of steel prices at year-end, at quarter-end.
In consumer products, net sales in Q3 were $162 million, up 41% from $115 million in the prior year.
Adjusted EBIT for the consumer business was $27 million and the EBIT margin was 16.5% in Q3, compared to $15 million and12.7% last year.
Building products generated net sales of $133 million in Q3, which was up 38% from $96 million in the prior year.
Building products adjusted EBIT was $50 million, and adjusted EBIT margin was 37.3%, up significantly from $27 million and 28.4% in Q3 last year.
ClarkDietrich's results improved by $15 million year over year, while WAVE was down slightly from a year ago.
ClarkDietrich and WAVE contributed equity earnings of $21 million and $19 million respectively.
In Sustainable Energy Solutions', net sales in Q3 were $31 million, down slightly from $32 million in the prior year, despite significantly lower volumes through the divestiture of our LPG gas business.
Excluding the divestiture, net sales were up 31% in Q3 versus last year.
Business reported an adjusted EBIT loss of $3 million in the quarter compared to break-even results in the prior year, as higher average selling prices were more than offset by the impact of significantly increased input costs.
Cash flow from operations was $74 million in the quarter, with free cash flow totaling $51 million.
We started to see our operating working capital levels decrease during the quarter, primarily due to lower steel prices, which added $49 million cash flow.
During the quarter, we received $29 million in dividends from our unconsolidated JVs', spend $270 million on the acquisition of Tempel, invested $24 million in capital projects, paid $14 million in dividends, and spent $54 million to repurchase a million shares of our common stock at an average price of $54.26.
Following the Q3 purchases, we have slightly over $7 million shares remaining under our share repurchase authorization.
Funded debt at quarter end of $813 million increased $111 million sequentially, primarily to fund the acquisition of Tempel.
Interest expense of $8 million was up slightly due to higher average debt levels, and we ended Q3 with $44 million in cash and $396 million available under our revolving credit facility.
Yesterday, the board declared a $0.28 per share dividend for the quarter, which is payable in June of 2022.
Most of you on the call know there was a precipitous decline in steel prices during the quarter from an all-time high for hot roll of $1958 per ton.
During the quarter, it fell briefly below $1 thousand per ton.
However, the recent events in Ukraine have reverse this trend significantly, as hot roll now sits around 1300 in upward pressure.

Summary:
Our teams executed very well in the quarter, and the result was a strong financial performance.
For Q3, we reported earnings of $1.11 per share versus $1.27 in the prior-year quarter.
Excluding a small restructuring and impairment charge, we generated $1.13 in the quarter versus $1.36 in the prior year, after adjusting for restructuring and a small gain on our investment in Nikola.
Consolidated net sales in the quarter of $1.4 billion were up significantly compared to $759 million in Q3 of last year.
And market demand is good, and the war in Ukraine, and its impacts on the steel supply chain pricing, and end-market demand are difficult to predict.