Nucor reports results for the First Quarter of 2024

Posted on Apr 22, 2024 in Nuts & Bolts

• Net earnings attributable to Nucor stockholders of $844.8 million, or $3.46 per diluted share
• Net sales of $8.14 billion
• Net earnings before noncontrolling interests of $959.0 million; EBITDA of $1.50 billion

Nucor Corporation has announced consolidated net earnings attributable to Nucor stockholders of $844.8 million, or $3.46 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2024. By comparison, Nucor reported consolidated net earnings attributable to Nucor stockholders of $785.4 million, or $3.16 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2023 and $1.14 billion, or $4.45 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2023.

Leon J. Topalian

“Nucor’s performance continues to be strong even as steel market conditions have come off their post-pandemic record highs,” said Leon Topalian, Nucor’s Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer. “We also took several bold steps to advance our growth, sustainability, and commercial strategies during the first quarter.  We broadened our capabilities in the rapidly growing data center market, announced new partnerships to supply our customers with low-carbon steel and accelerate the development of cleaner forms of energy, and introduced the Nucor Consumer Spot Price for our hot-rolled coil products to provide our customers with more timely and transparent information.”

Selected Segment Data
Earnings (loss) before income taxes and noncontrolling interests by segment for the first quarter of 2024 and 2023 were as follows (in thousands):

Financial Review
Nucor’s consolidated net sales were $8.14 billion in the first quarter of 2024, a 6% increase compared to $7.70 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 and a 7% decrease compared to $8.71 billion in the first quarter of 2023. Average sales price per ton in the first quarter of 2024 increased 1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 and decreased 3% compared to the first quarter of 2023. A total of 6,224,000 tons were shipped to outside customers in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 and a decrease of 3% compared to the first quarter of 2023. Total steel mill shipments in the first quarter of 2024 increased 7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 and decreased 2% compared to the first quarter of 2023. Steel mill shipments to internal customers represented 21% of total steel mill shipments in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2023. Downstream steel product shipments to outside customers in the first quarter of 2024 decreased 5% from the fourth quarter of 2023 and decreased 15% from the first quarter of 2023.

The average scrap and scrap substitute cost per gross ton used in the first quarter of 2024 was $421, a 6% increase compared to $397 in the fourth quarter of 2023 and a 2% increase compared to $414 in the first quarter of 2023.

Pre-operating and start-up costs related to the Company’s growth projects were approximately $125 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2024, compared with approximately $127 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2023 and approximately $82 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2023.

Overall operating rates at the Company’s steel mills increased to 82% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 74% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 79% in the first quarter of 2023.

Financial Strength
At the end of the first quarter of 2024, we had $5.54 billion in cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash and cash equivalents on hand. The Company’s $1.75 billion revolving credit facility remains undrawn and does not expire until November 2026.  Nucor continues to have the strongest credit rating in the North American steel sector (A-/A-/Baa1) with stable outlooks at Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s.

Commitment to Returning Capital to Stockholders
During the first quarter of 2024, Nucor repurchased approximately 5.5 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $180.79 per share. As of March 30, 2024, Nucor had approximately $2.32 billion remaining authorized and available for repurchases under its share repurchase program. This share repurchase authorization is discretionary and has no scheduled expiration date.

On February 20, 2024, Nucor’s Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.54 per share. This cash dividend is payable on May 10, 2024 to stockholders of record as of March 28, 2024 and is Nucor’s 204th consecutive quarterly cash dividend.

First Quarter of 2024 Analysis
Steel mills segment earnings in the first quarter of 2024 increased from the fourth quarter of 2023, primarily due to higher average selling prices and increased volumes, particularly at our sheet mills. Earnings in the steel products segment decreased in the first quarter of 2024 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 due to lower average selling prices and decreased volumes. Earnings in the raw materials segment increased in the first quarter of 2024 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.

Second Quarter of 2024 Outlook
We expect earnings in the second quarter of 2024 to decrease compared to the first quarter of 2024. The largest driver for the expected decrease in earnings in the second quarter of 2024 is the decreased earnings of the steel mills segment, primarily due to lower average selling prices partially offset by modestly increased volumes. The steel products segment is expected to have moderately decreased earnings in the second quarter of 2024 as compared to the first quarter of 2024 due to lower average selling prices, partially offset by increased volumes. Earnings in the raw materials segment are expected to be higher in the second quarter of 2024 as compared to the first quarter of 2024 due to the increased profitability of our direct reduced iron facilities and scrap processing operations.