Nucor Corporation today announced consolidated net earnings of $1.26 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022. By comparison, Nucor reported consolidated net earnings of $1.69 billion for the third quarter of 2022 and $2.25 billion for the fourth quarter of 2021.
For the full year 2022, Nucor reported record consolidated net earnings of $7.61 billion, surpassing the previous record of consolidated net earnings of $6.83 billion in 2021.
Average sales price per ton in the fourth quarter of 2022 decreased 7 percent compared with the third quarter of 2022 and decreased 6 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2021. Approximately 5,738,000 tons were shipped to outside customers in the fourth quarter of 2022, an 11 percent decrease from both the third quarter of 2022 and the fourth quarter of 2021.
Total steel mill shipments in the fourth quarter of 2022 decreased 13 percent as compared to both the third quarter of 2022 and the fourth quarter of 2021. Steel mill shipments to internal customers represented 20 percent of total steel mill shipments in the fourth quarter of 2022, a decrease compared to 22 percent in both the third quarter of 2022 and the fourth quarter of 2021. Downstream steel product shipments to outside customers in the fourth quarter of 2022 decreased 9 percent from the third quarter of 2022 and increased 2 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.
For the full year 2022, Nucor's consolidated net sales of $41.51 billion increased 14 percent compared with consolidated net sales of $36.48 billion reported in the full year 2021. Total tons shipped to outside customers in 2022 were approximately 25,524,000 tons, a decrease of 10 percent from 2021, while the average sales price per ton in 2022 increased 26 percent from 2021.
Steel mills segment earnings in the fourth quarter of 2022 decreased compared to the third quarter of 2022 due to lower average selling prices, margin compression, and lower volumes, with the largest decrease in profitability at Nucor’s sheet mills.
The modest decrease in the steel products segment earnings in the fourth quarter of 2022 as compared to the third quarter of 2022 was due to lower volumes and selling prices.
Raw materials segment earnings decreased significantly in the fourth quarter of 2022 as compared to the third quarter of 2022 primarily due to decreased profitability at the company’s direct reduced iron, or DRI, facilities, both of which experienced planned outages during the fourth quarter, decreased selling prices for raw materials.
As for an outlook, the company said the profitability of the steel mills segment is expected to increase in the first quarter of 2023 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 due to higher margins and volumes, with the largest improvement expected to occur at Nucor’s sheet mills.
Within the steel products segment, Nucor expects continued strong profitability in the first quarter of 2023, with some decrease expected from the fourth quarter of 2022 due to seasonally slower construction activity and some reductions in realized pricing. Overall, the company expects first quarter 2023 steel products segment earnings to be higher than the first quarter of 2022.
In a press release, Leon Topalian, Nucor's Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Looking ahead to 2023, while we recognize there is uncertainty about the near-term US economic outlook, we're starting to see a number of demand drivers gathering momentum, including the reshoring of manufacturing, large infrastructure investments and grid modernization. We believe Nucor's steel and steel products with lower greenhouse gas intensity will be essential building blocks to our nation's clean energy future, security, and productivity for years to come.”