Nucor Corporation today announced net earnings of $1.46 billion for the second quarter of 2023, compared to $1.14 billion for the first quarter of 2023, and $2.56 billion for the second quarter of 2022.
Nucor's consolidated net sales increased 9 percent to $9.52 billion in the second quarter of 2023 compared with $8.71 billion in the first quarter of 2023 and decreased 19 percent compared with $11.79 billion in the second quarter of 2022.
A total of 6,588,000 tons were shipped to outside customers in the second quarter of 2023, a 2 percent increase from the first quarter of 2023 and a 6 percent decrease from the second quarter of 2022. Total steel mill shipments in the second quarter of 2023 decreased 1 percent as compared to the first quarter of 2023 and decreased 7 percent as compared to the second quarter of 2022.
Steel mill shipments to internal customers represented 20 percent of total steel mill shipments in the second quarter of 2023, compared with 20 percent in the first quarter of 2023 and 22 percent in the second quarter of 2022. Downstream steel product shipments to outside customers in the second quarter of 2023 increased 5 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and decreased 9 percent from the second quarter of 2022.
Overall operating rates at the company's steel mills increased to 84 percent in the second quarter of 2023 as compared to 79 percent in the first quarter of 2023 and decreased compared to 85 percent in the second quarter of 2022.
In a press release, the company said it expects earnings in the third quarter of 2023 to decrease compared to the second quarter of 2023, with earnings for the steel mills segment projected to decline in the third quarter of 2023 as compared to the second quarter of 2023 due to decreased profitability, with the largest impact at Nucor’s sheet mills.
The earnings of the steel products segment are expected to moderate in the third quarter of 2023 as compared to the second quarter of 2023, while earnings for the raw materials segment are expected to decrease in the third quarter of 2023 as compared to the second quarter of 2023 due to margin compression at the company’s DRI facilities and scrap processing operations.