CHICAGO — Globe Specialty Metals Inc. is bullish on 2013, with an eye toward acquisitions.

A strong balance sheet and unused borrowing capacity “position us to actively pursue acquisitions and business development opportunities,” chief executive officer Jeff Bradley said in a statement released Feb. 8 with earnings data.

And Globe sees more acquisition opportunities now than it has in years, Bradley said during a conference call with analysts. “We’re seeing capital-constrained sellers or larger strategic sellers that have units that are of little interest to them at the moment ... because they are focused elsewhere.”

The New York-based silicon and silicon alloy products company also has a good idea of exactly what it’s looking for, given its deep roots in the industry, he said. “We’ll have seen (a company that is for sale) the last time (it was for sale) and maybe even the time before that that it sold and we’ll know the property well.”

Globe posted net income of $15.07 million in its fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31, up 12.1 percent from $13.44 million in the same period a year earlier on sales that increased 8.7 percent to $179.94 million. Globe shipped 61,972 tonnes of silicon and silicon alloy products in the quarter, up 21 percent from a year earlier.

But Globe’s net income for the six months ended Dec. 31 plunged 72.6 percent to $9.36 million from $34.14 million a year earlier despite an 11.8-percent increase in sales to $380.65 million.